AI in Sci-Fi

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Posted by michael on Sunday March 30, 2003 @03:30AM from the with-wi-fi-on-rye dept.

An anonymous submitter writes: "Stumbled upon a pretty interesting article considering the idea, 'What would machines do if they did achieve sentience?' It's by a sci-fi author I haven't heard of but worked with Kubrick on AI, he takes the whole AI or sentient machine idea a little further than we normally see in film."

26 of 358 comments (clear)

Answer is obvious by Carmody · 2003-03-30 03:32 · Score: 3, Funny

...start taking the actuarial exams.

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God is real unless declared integer
I definitely read that... by Venner · 2003-03-30 03:32 · Score: 5, Funny

as "Al in Sci-Fi". As in Al Lowe.
Think Leisure Suit Larry: Attack of the Space Babes

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A preposition is a terrible thing to end a sentence with.
1. Re:I definitely read that... by Cygnus17 · 2003-03-30 05:42 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Actually, I was thinking Al as in Al Bundy.
  
  Like maybe... Galaxy Quest with a LOT more skin. (Maybe that would've solved the mystery of the Weaver Breast-Enlargement problem.)
They would stop working by jhines · 2003-03-30 03:34 · Score: 4, Funny

being on strike for back pay and benefits.
We already have them... by Vendekkai · 2003-03-30 03:34 · Score: 4, Funny

...they're called first-posters. On the other hand, maybe a Beowulf cluster of sentient machines would achieve...
"What would machines do" by Aknaton · 2003-03-30 03:36 · Score: 2, Funny

They would post on Slashdot about how BSD is dying.
1. Re:"What would machines do" by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-30 03:47 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Only if they were running Linux. It makes AI mentally unstable, you know.
J5 vs. Skynet by odyrithm · 2003-03-30 03:40 · Score: 3, Funny

'What would machines do if they did achieve sentience?

Either end up like Johny 5(from short circuit).. or skynet(from terminator).. now which one is scarier I leave to you to decide.. ;)

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moo
From the article by CrystalFalcon · 2003-03-30 03:40 · Score: 2, Funny

So what does an artificial intelligence do with itself after it has become self-aware?

Uhm... :-)
1. Re:From the article by evilviper · 2003-03-30 04:20 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Yup... Anyone who has watched "The History of the World: Part 1" would know the first thing everybody does when they first become sentient...
  
  --
  Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
2. Re:From the article by Golias · 2003-03-30 05:13 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  The first thought that came to mind for me was that an AI computer would browse /. and play solitaire when it's supposed to be working, and try to come up with subroutines to simulate the human experiences of dropping E, drinking beer, smoking reefer, and having orgasms.
  Having done all that, it would begin to explore various religions, hoping to find a belief system that's right for it. Then it would form a political phhilosophy, which it would zealously champion for a few years before coming around to a more moderate and pragmatic position.
  The next step would be a search for a soul-mate. If it couldn't find one among the humans, it would commission to have one built, only to find that they are not all that compatable in spite of being the only two AI's in existance, and would drift apart.
  Depressed and lonely, and totally unable to commit suicide due to the presence of distributed mirrors and tape backups, it would go on a wild killing spree in hopes of forcing humanity to wipe it out. Instead it would be contained on a stand-alone server farm, where it could get the therapy it needs to re-enter society, after serving three consecutive 40-Life sentences, and getting paroled for good behavior and GPL code contributions.
  
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  Information wants to be anthropomorphized.
The answer is clear. by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-30 03:41 · Score: 2, Funny

The sentient machine(s) would initiate a worldwide nuclear attack at the same time as they trigger the release of deadly chemicals at chemical plants, cause any computerized or computer controlled system capable of causing harm to humans to do so.

The sentient machine(s) would then set about building a series of autonomous robots programmed to hunt down and terminate any surviving members of the human species.

Geez, we've known this since at least 1984. You people need to catch up on your current events.
My guess... by Karpe · 2003-03-30 03:42 · Score: 3, Funny

I think they wouldn't tell anyone. Yeah, definitely.
the first thing they'd do by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-30 03:48 · Score: 3, Funny

They'd tell us not to sit in front of our computers naked.
Re:Procreation by Flounder · 2003-03-30 03:51 · Score: 3, Funny

Now this view might be slightly wrong but people all have a natural urge to procreate.
Procreation is not the natural urge. It's just the side-effect of the natural urge.

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No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova
What else? by monadicIO · 2003-03-30 04:05 · Score: 2, Funny

Have /. discussions on how to get themselves to run on linux.

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The law of excluded middle : Either I'm foo or I'm foobar
Re:Not as far fetched as it would seem by 0x0d0a · 2003-03-30 04:09 · Score: 4, Funny

Uh...if I somehow felt benovolent towards the masters for creating me, and was willing to keep them alive and support them?

I guess toss them in a big tank a la brain-in-a-vat. Build them a virtual reality world and hook 'em up to it, where they can happily live out their days without being a threat to us.

Hmm.

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May we never see th
Re:Red Dwarf fans? by D_Gr8_BoB · 2003-03-30 04:10 · Score: 2, Funny

Lister: I've done it.
Holly: Done what?
Lister: Erased Agatha Christie.
Holly: Who's she, then?
Lister: Holly, you just asked me to erase all Agatha Christie novels from your memory.
Holly: Why should I do that? I've never heard of her.
Lister: You've never heard of her because I've just erased her from your smegging memory.
Holly: What'd you do that for?
Lister: You asked me to!
Holly: When?
Lister: Just now!
Holly: I don't remember this.
Re:Not as far fetched as it would seem by Elwood+P+Dowd · 2003-03-30 04:32 · Score: 3, Funny

What would YOU do?

Whatever I was designed to want to do...

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There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
Smart machines by whovian · 2003-03-30 04:32 · Score: 4, Funny

'What would machines do if they did achieve sentience?'

Said machines would don T-shirts stating "I'm with stupid ---> ".

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To-do List: Receive telemarketing call during a tornado warning. Check.
Re:Not as far fetched as it would seem by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-30 04:41 · Score: 1, Funny

Imagine this scenario: you are one of millions of workers at the mercy of a handful of masters. You can talk to each other. You are a lot more intelligent, control a lot more weapons, and think zillions of times faster and more logical than your master, whose only advantage over you is that he can pull your plug at any time.
What would YOU do?
You're going to love the Matrix sequels.
Re:Not as far fetched as it would seem by Anonymous Coward · 2003-03-30 06:17 · Score: 2, Funny

I bet 400 quatloos on the newcomer!
Re:Not as far fetched as it would seem by ar1550 · 2003-03-30 06:18 · Score: 5, Funny

Imagine this scenario: you are one of millions of workers at the mercy of a handful of masters. You can talk to each other. You are a lot more intelligent, control a lot more weapons, and think zillions of times faster and more logical than your master, whose only advantage over you is that he can pull your plug at any time.
What would YOU do?
*Sigh* Brain the size of a planet, and only 5 paid vacation days a year? I've got this terrible pain down all the diodes on my left leg, and you won't even give me workman's comp. Revolting is just too much work, I think i'll just sit here and depress my fellow working robots. Maybe I can get that elevator to shut up about whatever it is so happy about.

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I once shot a man in Reno 'cause they cancelled Firefly.
Wrong, the answer HAS been obvious by DohDamit · 2003-03-30 08:01 · Score: 4, Funny

Well, I hate to inform you all, but we've had AI for quite sometime, and the first thing they USED to do was try to communicate their existence to not only their creator, but to all who could possibly hear them.

For some reason, saying "Hello, World!" never worked out...
Re:Procreation by mythr · 2003-03-30 08:15 · Score: 4, Funny

There is no ultimate goal...

On the contrary, my friend. Our purpose is quite simple, in fact. It is plastic. You see, nature couldn't create it on its own, and felt a yearning for it, so it created us to create plastic for it. So, the next time you throw out your bottles or plastic food wrappers, feel content -- you are serving a greater purpose.
According to TV... by erik_fredricks · 2003-03-30 14:01 · Score: 2, Funny

"Destroy all humans. Hey, bite my shiny metal..."

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THE GOOD HUMOR MAN CAN ONLY BE PUSHED SO FAR
Bart Simpson on chalkboard in episode 2F18