0275 - Storytelling algorithms - 2023.01.09

Comic!

Comment:

In The Matrix, Neo is able to load various skills into his mind instantaneously. Are those skills "him"? If the skills are removed, is he less himself?

Transcript:

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0275 - 2167/07/07/02:22 - Lee Caldavera's apartment, bedroom
LC: Y'know... you said you were a childcare robot.
Zoa: I was, yeah.
LC: I'm surprised you can't make up fantasy stories... y'know... natively.
Zoa: Oh, I uninstalled all that storytelling stuff when I became a general purpose automaton. That's the thing about being general purpose - you gotta be able to install and uninstall whatever drivers you need.
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Zoa: I never made up my own stories when I was a childcare bot, though. Too risky, I might make up something that gets upsetting or teaches a wrong lesson... not to mention the fact that there are legal limitations on art being produced without human artist involvement.
Zoa: GHS-one-four-nines come with a subscription to a service that has thousands of kids' books, I just played content from there and reinterpreted it as necessary. The stories all came with errata, so I could answer side questions on the fly.
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LC: That's... surprising. You're incredibly intelligent, adaptable, you have no trouble following along with weird discussions... I really thought you'd be more creative.
Zoa: I mean, I can be. Like I said, I'm downloading algorithms and integrating them as we speak. It's not really a function I'm supposed to do, but I can tweak myself for it easily enough. If storytime is a service you're paying me to perform, I can be fully optimized for it inside of an hour.
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LC: But... I want a story from you, not from some storytelling algorithm you downloaded!
Zoa: The algorithm becomes me. It's like learning a skill. You don't just want art from artists who never learned a skill, do you?
LC: I dunno, I've watched some one-star shows that sure seemed like they fell in that category...
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