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A dangerous legal precedent

More on Mindfulness

1 o'clock, September 24, 2003

So putting the AI discussion on the back burner (before Brandon and Derek start throwing bar stools and breaking the necks off of bottles), and switching the entry category from Science to Art — I think what’s really annoying me, from an artistic perspective, is that harnessing the energy of entire galaxies and turning everything into giant computers and other Big Dumb Objects is so done. It’s a ’60s idea.

Comments

Sorry, David...I didn't think AI was that contentious a subject.

And yeah, planet size computers are kind of dumb. I mean, we want them to keep getting smaller and smaller, right? :)

—— Derek James, 4:38 PM, Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Exactly. One Big Computer is a 60s idea. Lots Of Little Computers is, at least, a 90s idea.

I’m not going to insist on a 21st-century idea for my first novel. I may just disappoint the characters and leave the readers hanging. That gives me till the sequel to come up with something better. :)

—— David Moles, 10:44 PM, Wednesday, September 24, 2003

Hmm. From an artistic perspective, I see two choices:

1) Bring back the BDO. I mean, space operas went away for a while? It might be time for giant thinking machines to make a comeback.

2) Come up with something else. How about computers that are there but aren't? In another dimension, or made up of the air molecules in a room. A little fanciful, sure, but why not? How far in the future is this space opera of yours anyhoo?

—— Jon, 8:57 AM, Thursday, September 25, 2003