I like the way Lovelace went from being concerned to the creation of new AIs to be upset that they would be dissed in less then the blink of an eye! 😛
Truth be said, neither the Baron nor Nick are evil or destructive people so I don’t see why it is that she would even care that virtual clones of them had been created. @_@
^^^This; she wants to make sure these new AIs are looked after as befits their status as presumed-sentient-until-proved-otherwise entities.
Whereas Nick doesn’t give a what happens to his duplicate (and since the self-loathing is so ingrained, neither does the duplicate – which is rather awful when you think about it…).
> Whereas Nick doesn’t give a what happens to his duplicate
Which is even weirder, when you think about it, because isn’t the entire reason they’re in this mess to look for another one of Nick’s duplicates? Albeit gender-shifted? (I guess boobs really *do* help…)
He already thought of Aimee as a separate person beforehand, while his more recent duplicate he knew right from the start was just a copy of himself. Perception and prejudice make a difference.
Isn’t Lovelace’s concern over the unintended consequences of creating these entities? Will they plug up their present condition or come back to bite them when the situation is more dire?
What I want to know is what makes the Baron’s and Nick’s duplicates different from the original avatars? Do they have a tie to the ego outside the VR? Would they be able to reconfigure outside the game?
Okay, so is Nick saying that to Baron because “uh, dude?”, or is he saying it to Lovelace to justify Baron’s rudeness?
Yes.
In this case, let’s embrace the healing power of “and”. ^_^
They are certainly sapient. Are they not capable of reasoning?
The better question is if they are sentient. Do they feel pain? (They probably do.)
The most important question, however, is if the needs they act on are the needs they have – and if they even notice. (But then, who does?)
(And speaking of origami unicorns: Thou hast, Baron.)
There is plenty of confusion between sentience and sapience in SF literature, including no less a personage than Larry Niven.
I like the way Lovelace went from being concerned to the creation of new AIs to be upset that they would be dissed in less then the blink of an eye! 😛
Truth be said, neither the Baron nor Nick are evil or destructive people so I don’t see why it is that she would even care that virtual clones of them had been created. @_@
I think it’s “concerned for them”, not “concerned about them”.
^^^This; she wants to make sure these new AIs are looked after as befits their status as presumed-sentient-until-proved-otherwise entities.
Whereas Nick doesn’t give a what happens to his duplicate (and since the self-loathing is so ingrained, neither does the duplicate – which is rather awful when you think about it…).
The Baron is, if anything, the opposite; he knows *he* “doth own hard” and can look out for himself, so he’s confident his doppelBarons can do likewise, making him somewhat blasé about them. Hence why Lovelace is the only one showing concern for the wellbeing of any of the duplicates.
> Whereas Nick doesn’t give a what happens to his duplicate
Which is even weirder, when you think about it, because isn’t the entire reason they’re in this mess to look for another one of Nick’s duplicates? Albeit gender-shifted? (I guess boobs really *do* help…)
He already thought of Aimee as a separate person beforehand, while his more recent duplicate he knew right from the start was just a copy of himself. Perception and prejudice make a difference.
But that prejudice is exactly the sort of thing that would trigger Lovelace’s ire as an advocate for AIs and their rights.
Isn’t Lovelace’s concern over the unintended consequences of creating these entities? Will they plug up their present condition or come back to bite them when the situation is more dire?
In this case, I refer you to Towering Barbarian’s comment above regarding the power of “and” for this scenario.
I have to admit, boobies make caring for a “code object” SO much easier…
Here, here!
For you pedantic sorts: Hear, hear!
And for the grimmer nazis: there, their, they’re.
She doth not merely have boobies, she hath an awesome rack with which to waste Helen and Mell! (http://narbonic.com/comic/september-4-9-2006/)
Thank you for reminding me of that line. I need to remember that line more often.
That was a great scene! Anyway, Helen and Mell have personalities that make up for that anatomical reality.
Confident of being the original Baron, isn’t he?
What I want to know is what makes the Baron’s and Nick’s duplicates different from the original avatars? Do they have a tie to the ego outside the VR? Would they be able to reconfigure outside the game?
Wouldn’t unicorns be attracted to, I dunno, udders?
You’re really wanting Baron to make sense…?