From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos
From Address: graemecree@aol.com
Subject: Re: The Practical Joker (TAS): my review

On Nov 14, 1:04apm, "Steven L."  wrote:
> "Graeme"  wrote in message
>
> news:ade718eb-d20f-451e-ac85-ecde64c1659e@k5g2000pre.googlegroups.com:
>
> > This one is my #4 episode, after Slaver Weapon, Yesteryear, and
> > Pirates of Orion. aI still don't buy the idea of a computer
> > accidentally becoming sentient, but even Asimov wrote stories around
> > that premise, so we can let it pass.
>
> Computers that unexpectedly become sentient is a staple of science
> fiction for at least 50 years. aLots and lots of short stories, movies,
> and novels. aAlso a couple of TV episodes of "The Twilight Zone."
>
> An example is "When Harlie Was One," written by David Gerrold in 1972.
> It dealt with a robot programmed with artificial intelligence to the
> point that it could act like a person. aAnd when it became necessary to
> switch it off, the question arose whether it *was* a person, so that
> switching it off would constitute murder.
>
> And yep, that theme appeared later in a TNG episode involving Data--"The
> Measure of a Man," I think it was.
>
> -- Steven L.
It's kind of a dumb story, across the board, though.  In The
Bicentennial Man, I think the android was sentient through a
manufacturing defect or something.  In Star Trek:  The Motion Picture,
V'ger is said to have achieved consciousness because it acquired "so
much knowledge".  A hard drive doesn't become conscious when you store
enough files on it.  Consciousness is just a lot more complex than the
writers think it is.
As for turning off a sentient computer, even if one existed, that
could hardly be murder so long as you can switch it back on at any
time.
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