"Compressing" AIs, Ghosts and Shadows.

[Cato the Elder]

Is it possible for AIs to "compress" their programming into a less complex format, like a shadow copy might be taken from the human brain? Additionally, can shadow copies be made of a human brain after destructive uploading from a ghost program? How would xoxing laws apply to these situations, if at all?

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

[jeff_wilson]

Originally Posted by Cato the Elder

Is it possible for AIs to "compress" their programming into a less complex format, like a shadow copy might be taken from the human brain? Additionally, can shadow copies be made of a human brain after destructive uploading from a ghost program? How would xoxing laws apply to these situations, if at all?

Thanks for your thoughts in advance.

Shadows can canonically be made from Ghosts, yes.

AI's don't particularly compress, but IIRC you can make a LAI or a NAI from a SAI, or a NAI from a LAI, and the product will take up less room and and resemble the source program's behavior as much as a program of its class can.

Eidolon technology (form DEEP BEYOND) allows construction of Shadow-like infomorphs from the sufficiently detailed records of a person or infomorph, even if it turns out that the original was fictional. This sort of process was explored in the CAPRICA series.

And as far as I know, the xox laws don't restrict any of these derivative sub-sapient programs, though many other sorts of laws do in numerous places. If LAI-Bob is legal in your area, chances are any number of LAI-Bobs will be.