Report 009 [Video/Written] | Backdated to about 10:40 a.m. on May 17 (due to mun fail)

[semper_cogitans]

Comments

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

[Not just a computer, a computer from the future! And Daisy probably has a very good view of it in the video screen... well, as good a view as one can get in a dim room.]

I would be honoured to have someone from a similarly-technological world peruse my nanocomputer's functionality, Ms. Daisy.

[Robert might even be able to understand some of those reasonings.]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

[2332 A.D., here. So Daisy is even further in the future than Robert is - though, of course, that's somewhat relative.]

Holodecks? I have heard of applications of similar concepts with Terran technology, but I am not certain how widely-used or practical they are.

My particular nanocomputer is... admittedly not very powerful. It is only a standard-issue unit, made for scientific studies by the Head Institute of Terra. It is fitted with instrumentation for analyses done in both the laboratory and in the field.

I did not wish to push my luck with the Malnosso. They were uncomfortable enough giving this to me as it was.

[The mun needs more specific data for this, seriously. Though he isn't even sure where to start...

And Robert would be curious as to what other possibilities Daisy sees in his nanocomputer.]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

So AIs in your world are sapients, of a kind? There are non-organic sapients on Terra as well; however, I would hesitate to say that they wish to identify as humans.

[It's the complexity of the programming required. The more complex, the more likely it is to fail or develop strange redundancies... AIs of this kind of intelligence would necessitate complexity, and therefore would be more likely, statistically, to fail in strange ways.]

Some technology is better than none, though I apologize that it is not up to your standards.

[Were Daisy to ask, Robert would answer the question as, sadly, a no. Though Robert's nanocomputer would normally be able to patch a weak, brief signal through to Terra via transporter technology, the barrier prevents it.]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

Ah, I see. Modelling AI after human brains does seem like a way to guarantee some measure of creativity. Terran AIs often use sapient brain structure as building blocks or models, themselves.

[Robert has a tendency to assume stuff like that. It's just his nature to think he, and by extension his stuff, isn't good enough.]

I would not be adverse to accompanying you in the field, Ms. Daisy. [Provided it didn't involve violence-y things.

... Though it probably will but Robert is going to ignore that possibility for now.

Also, it may actually be possible for Robert to communicate with her MJOLNIR. But it would likely require tweaking... tweaking that isn't beyond Don's, Robert's, and Daisy's combined technical aptitudes, perhaps?]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

I think I would enjoy an excursion of that sort.

[Nope, watching somebody's brain be pulverised wouldn't help Robert's sanity much. So it may actually have to happen sometime.]

Ah, well. Terran AIs rarely experience... instabilities, I suppose. But it is not entirely unheard of. That being said, the use of AIs is rather limited to specific applications - they are impractical to build many of.

[Having the nanocomputer as an off-journal communications device would prove extremely useful...]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

I hope that your excursion was a pleasant one, then.

[If it wasn't for the fact that the Hamato family had planned one, Robert would invite Daisy to it... He's open to doing so again sometime, though, if Daisy doesn't mind how slow and weak he is (even for a regular person, never mind an enhanced Spartan).]

Perhaps there is some method to counteract this, but I am not certain what it would be. Some kind of corrective algorithm, perhaps?

[Not like Robert has much experience with programming in general, let alone AIs.]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

Emotion and creativity tend to be much the same for humans themselves, actually. [Written with a hint of irony - Robert has many times suffered the negative effects of having emotions and sometimes he wishes he didn't have them at all to avoid that.]

I do not yet have the constitution to easily take trips of the sort, but perhaps I eventually will.

[Hey, Mike's going to train him, so who knows?]

[Written]

[semper_cogitans]

A trainer? [He considers this with some awkwardness.] Well, I have not exactly made any formal requests as such, but - I suppose I would not be adverse to it. Don's father was adamant that I try to get into better shape for Don's sake.

[That's the main reason why Robert has even tried to be more physical, really. Though, truth be told, it isn't too bad anyway... When he has someone nice to do it with.]