From: "Simon Laub" Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 11:21 PM Subject: Terminators on Windows (was: Rise of the machines - on buggy software) My apologies to Microsoft, - as "Mark Landin" pointed out -, the Terminator killing streak is not entirely a Windows howler. > Actually, in the original T1, the stuff displayed > when we are looking through the Terminator's eyes > is machine code for the Motorola 6802 > CPU used in the original Apples. Fortunately, it's even commented! Still, we all know it (?), when we go to Mars our spaceships will be running Windows software! And surely - future humanoid robots will also be running Windows!? Which all in all should be material for a scary movie or two. It is (perhaps) pointless to flesh out the exact details of the (T) movie, but in very general terms it is certainly about this exponential growing technology that turns conscious. The evil part is a little tricky though: "Reverend Lovejoy" : > Skynet, while in operation, was presumably "evolving", and > then eventually became self aware. Then from the description the > Terminator gave, the people in charge got scared and > attempted to unplug skynet - skynet fired nukes at > Russia as an act of self preservation. Or "Mark Landin" : > Reese did spell it out while they were hiding in the parking garage: > Skynet was a defense system, programmed to view our enemies (the > Soviets, at the time) as "threats". When it became self-aware, it > decided ALL humans were threats, not just US enemies. Since everyone > was a threat, and nobody left to protect, "it decided our fate in a > microsecond". Thats buggy software for you. You try so hard to bootstrap the whole thing into something really intelligent, and then some stupid classification error makes it turn on you. Didn't the inventors ever read up on their Asimov - and have the robot "positron" brains freeze on even the weakest sign of such going ons? About Skynet, a friend of mine compared it to John R. Koza and colleagues "Do-it-yourself Super computer", where 1000 somewhat outdated 350 MHz Pentium computers work in a cluster on some Genetic Algorithm problem: Where they use the genetic programming as a technique to design computer programs or electronic circuits that perform some specified function. I.e. the typical (A.I.) goal of stating a problem in everyday language and then have computers solve them based on such a high level statement - backfires (in this Skynet project), and you get your problem solved with some unforseen consequences. Surely, if setting your AI application up on a Windows platform might be considered equivalent to giving it a virtual drug - none of this should come as any real surprise. Actually, should we still consider it SF? Fortunately, the Terminators are still SF! Anyhow, You gotta love these Terminators: "What do you feel?", "I am not programmed to feel, I am Terminator". Which of course doesn't make much sense. As you can't have consciousness without feelings, can you? And it gets even better when you ponder the delicacies of Terminator sexlife, or a Terminator for Governor of California? :-) "keved" asked: > In an instant, we become their pets. > In an instant, they might tire of us. > The question is, as technology becomes a god, > does it become a benevolent > god or is there no use for humans? Which makes you go: If only people had read their Asimov and taught Asimovian law at engineer school we wouldn't be in these dire straits. >Steve Hanson wrote: >>I don't doubt it at all. And it will likely >>be the most disastrous scientific >>breakthrough in human history. >Great, this world could use a clean sweep. I will personally >volunteer for any sort of "Baltar" role the machine intelligence may >require to sell-out the rest of mankind. Arnold will save us. -Simon Simon Laub www.silanian.subnet.dk ----- Original Message ----- From: "Simon Laub" Newsgroups: alt.movies,rec.arts.sf.movies,rec.arts.sf.written Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2003 1:22 AM Subject: T3: Rise of the Machines (using Windows?) > Something has obviously gone horriblely > wrong in the Terminator movies. Why aren't these robots > friendly guys?, going about doing their friendly Asimovian-like > routines? > > How did this spillway of Doom start out? > T1 and T2 weren't exactly precise about it (was it something > about "Skynet" turning conscious?). Surely consciousness > is not the same as a desire to kill?. > > Is the robot killing streak there by accident - or by design? > > If it is an error, where did it come from? What made the machines > "selfaware and > full of shit"? > Is it all some future feature of Windows? Cause, surely, > future humanoid robots will be running Windows? And certainly, this is going > to give > the "blue screen of death" a whole new meaning?! > > And if the robot killing instincts didn't come about > as a Windows error, why can't these conscious robots > find pleasure in dancing to music or aspire to be > rockstars on MTV? > Honestly, why is the main attraction for conscious robots > always knocking down people? > > And if it is human replacement the robots wants? Why don't they go for > face replacement on dead humans (i.e. when a person is dead, they > obviously no longer need their face. Such an "unused" > face could then be donated to a robot, who could use the face > as an entry point for human life - after all, we all > wear a social mask)... or something like that. > Why do they need to rush things with all of this Terminator > violence? Why not something a bit more subtle? > A Home Sapiens version 2.0 is fine with me, but surely you could achieve > this with something more subtle than Terminators? > > According to Arnold himself - T3 is going > to be scary! One wonders if it will give some answers > to the riddles ? :-) > > ps. > I looked the plot up - So far it is something like this -> > In T1 there is a very bleak version of the future. The > nuclear war has already happened (in the year 1997), and some survived. > Those who have survived face even a tougher battle. Machines now have > artificial intelligence and can run themselves. They see the errors in > the ways of humans, so have set out to cease their existence. > A nice effective solution. The humans, though, have a leader, a man > named John. The machines, afraid that John will lead the humans to victory, > had sent Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Terminator T800 robot, back in time to > 1984. > His job is to kill off Hamilton who is going to give birth to John. The > humans > learning of the machines move send back in time a human to stop the T800 > (who was played by Michael Biehn). The T800 failed it's mission. > ........................... > In T2 the machines are now desperate to kill off John > (who is played in TERMINATOR 2 by Furlong). They send back a Terminator > version T1000 (played by Patrick) to kill off Furlong, now ten. The > humans in an effort to stop the T1000, send back the T800 model of the > Terminator robots (played again by Schwarzenegger) to protect him. > > You kind of wonder what they will dream up for T3 ? :-) > > >From:Robert A. Healey (healer@rpi.edu) > > > > > >What's a writer? Don't you know they use Microsoft Plot Generator 2001? > >(Voyager is still using the DOS version). Just plug in the basics - > >sequel number, original movie, names of any new characters, and the cast > >names. In under 10 crashes generates a completely unbearable film that > >I will be forced to project and you will be forced to suffer through. > > > > But then again, who cares, we know it is going to be a great movie :-) > > -Simon > > Simon Laub > www.silanian.subnet.dk > > >