From Newsgroup: alt.tv.star-trek.tos
From Address: sdlitvin@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: The Practical Joker (TAS): my review



"Graeme"  wrote in message 
news:531cfacd-5008-4d7a-a269-7861209f178a@y7g2000vbe.googlegroups.com:

> 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.

Depends.
When I reboot my computer, everything that was in its RAM memory is 
gone.

If you want to claim that completely erasing a sentient being's brain 
isn't murder, I would disagree with you because that being's knowledge 
base made it the person he is.


-- Steven L.


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