Post by stargazer1682 on Jun 12, 2020 17:02:18 GMT
The subject probably goes without saying, but as I think about it, I think it's easy to take for granted that he is in fact an AI, because he behaves so much like, at least in many ways, like an otherwise organic being.
The observation that really stood out to make me think about this was in TNG's season 1 "We'll Always Have Paris," when Picard, Data and Riker are having a conversation as they step into a turbolift; the lift opens and the three of them are starring back at themselves and the perspective shifts to this seemingly second set of Riker, Picard and Data. Data explains how they are the "real" Riker, Picard and Data, as are the three they just saw in the turbolift; and that they are both equally real. And it struck me just how profound a conclusion like that would be, even for a moderately intelligent person, but arguably exponentially more so for a computer to be able to wrap their head around a paradox like that.
I've dabbled in some very rudimentary programming and a fair share of web design that's involved modifying web code; and if you so much as input the code in the wrong spot, add or subtract a single character or forget to place a semi-colon in just the right spot - forget it. It's going to do all sorts of crazy shit. Most people don't realize just how real a problem Y2K could have been, had programmers not busted their ass to fix it.
And yet here is Data, who's so limited because he doesn't understand emotions and can't use contractions, but he can analyze advanced scientific theories, express his own opinions on them, formulate theories based on them; and reconcile a fucking temporal paradox, while he was probably simultaneously contemplating if he should get a cat or take up playing an instrument, all without missing a beat.
The observation that really stood out to make me think about this was in TNG's season 1 "We'll Always Have Paris," when Picard, Data and Riker are having a conversation as they step into a turbolift; the lift opens and the three of them are starring back at themselves and the perspective shifts to this seemingly second set of Riker, Picard and Data. Data explains how they are the "real" Riker, Picard and Data, as are the three they just saw in the turbolift; and that they are both equally real. And it struck me just how profound a conclusion like that would be, even for a moderately intelligent person, but arguably exponentially more so for a computer to be able to wrap their head around a paradox like that.
I've dabbled in some very rudimentary programming and a fair share of web design that's involved modifying web code; and if you so much as input the code in the wrong spot, add or subtract a single character or forget to place a semi-colon in just the right spot - forget it. It's going to do all sorts of crazy shit. Most people don't realize just how real a problem Y2K could have been, had programmers not busted their ass to fix it.
And yet here is Data, who's so limited because he doesn't understand emotions and can't use contractions, but he can analyze advanced scientific theories, express his own opinions on them, formulate theories based on them; and reconcile a fucking temporal paradox, while he was probably simultaneously contemplating if he should get a cat or take up playing an instrument, all without missing a beat.
