04-10-2010, 09:40 PM | #31 | |
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Lawrence, KS
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Re: Why Germany Matters
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Bill Stoddard |
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04-10-2010, 10:41 PM | #32 | |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Why Germany Matters
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To avoid charges of constructive xoxing, SAI training needs to be supervised by non-infomorph sapients, and they get paid, so in order to get SAI costs down, non-SAI wages have to go down, but of course lower wages for non-SAIs makes it harder for SAI-providers to compete, so there's no net gain there. Really, the advantage of SAIs is that they have superhuman capabilities in vigilance (can happily work or train at full human effectiveness or better 24/7), in reaction time, and in life support (they only need a little box with power and data, and otherwise having broad environmental tolerances), and they can travel between most 5W locations at relativistic speeds. |
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04-10-2010, 11:31 PM | #33 | |
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Sydney
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Re: Why Germany Matters
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The other thing to remember (which I am sure that you are already aware of) is that overt violence in an adventure can be still be non lethal. A punch up in a bar, tackling a handbag snatcher, a martial arts tournament etc With GURPS expanded combat rules these can still be pretty 'rules intensive' combat with a significant outcome even though no one is going to die. |
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04-10-2010, 11:59 PM | #34 | ||
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Oldenburg, Germany
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Re: Why Germany Matters
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(And frankly, for many skills LAIs are sufficient trainers most of the time...)
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GURPS Repository • Sunken Castles, Evil Poodles - translating German folk tales into English! |
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04-11-2010, 01:13 AM | #35 |
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Re: Why Germany Matters
Well, with all the talk of SAI rights and bioroid reproduction, one obvious conflict is over xoxing rights.
Also, I just realized there's a middle ground. Free private xoxing may be illegal, for legal or suffrage or wage collapse reasons. But what about licensed xoxing, a set quota of informorph population growth, like immigration quotas? Or (also licensed) xoxing-with-personality-modification, to increase the number of skilled citizens and take some advantage of copying, without an explosion of sameness? And obviously such a state might bend the rules for an informorph with *urgently needed* skills, like loyal Arabic or Pashtun translators today. Which would spark international fears of a "race to the bottom", and more and more xoxing... |
04-12-2010, 01:17 AM | #36 |
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Schleswig, Germany
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Re: Why Germany Matters
As a general suggestion, what I missed from time to time in THS sourcebooks, are specific conflicts, which provide adventure hooks and not only general conflicts, which provide background information. FW is a good example of this. The author(s) seemed to be a bit too focused on writing a political and futurological treatise (and excelling at that job, that is!), but not so much a roleplaying game sourcebook. Take for example the old 3e GURPS Fantasy. While of course not of the quality of modern THS products, with every region of Yrth it described, it hinted at some specific conflict or mystery going on there, in which the PCs would surely be involved in. I missed stuff like that in books as FW.
So, I´d like to read about the Bioroid Ripper of Braunschweig, the series of Zeppelin thefts in Friedrichshafen, the attempts to sabotage to reconstruction of the Cologne Cathedral, nearly destroyed in an as yet unsolved terrorist attack and the mysterious hauntings at the construction site of Burg Falkenstein, König Ludwig IIs unrealised pet project. Good luck in your endeavour, anyhow.
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No unconsenting english phrases were harmed during the writing of this post. |
04-12-2010, 04:32 AM | #37 |
Computer Scientist
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Dallas, Texas
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Re: Why Germany Matters
I suppose SAIs could train other SAIs the way biosapients would, but then you've still got a SAI doing a job that a cheaper biosapient could. If you let them do it the efficient way by transferring information sets directly into the student SAIs, that's essentially a xoxing process, and at some point the student will literally become the teacher. It might even be a memetic crime as well., it's hard to tell without someone willing to commit to a more useful definition of either.
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04-15-2010, 05:19 PM | #38 | ||
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: At the Stern, Raising the Black
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Re: Why Germany Matters
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"I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." |
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04-15-2010, 09:59 PM | #39 |
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Sydney
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Re: Why Germany Matters
I was at one time thinking of writing up Sydney for Transhuman Space.
One issue that I wanted to cover was policing the city in 2100. Not sure if this necessarily has to go in a cities or country book (rather than its own article), but if you are interested in the topic then I would suggest covering it for Germany. |
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germany, transhuman space |
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