The Utility of Organics

[David Johnston2]

Is there any job or profession that organics can do better than the machines?

[vicky_molokh]

Anything where economics or logistics are more important than attaining maximum individual toughness. THS is a world where cybershells are 'PC material' - good but prohibitively expensive compared to the more budget-but-good-enough choice of using organics.

E.g. even though the individual top-of-the-line cybershell plus SAI may be better than organics, as a group and a company, the Vacs of Clarke-1 just build space stations faster and cheaper than either humans in suits or infomorphs in cybershells.

[Flyndaran]

Realistically, only where it's legally or culturally required. But THS puts organics in places that really don't make any economical or logical sense.
You just have to sweep the issue under the rug to get the game going.

[RogerBW]

Where you need slow, inaccurate computers that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.

Or:

On the Biosapient Reservation, where they can be kept away from sharp things.

[DaibhidC]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

Where you need slow, inaccurate computers that can be mass-produced by unskilled labour.

Reminded of the Red Dwarf line that the Skutters don't do Lister and Rimmer's job (restocking vending machines), because the robots have a better union.

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

But THS puts organics in places that really don't make any economical or logical sense.

Actually they do. They're an often purely physically inferior but cheaper alternative to non-organics. That's their place. They're the budget workhorse Fourth Wave thing in a world where the Fifth Wave presents new cutting-edge-but-expensive shinies. The setting seems to be upfront that organics are not as cool as synth-robotics. It's basics vs. luxuries.

[ericthered]

I get the impression that organics are by far the cheapest minds in THS. You can get automation cheaply, but that only does the same thing again and again. If you want a fully intelligent mind, organics are the easy option.


Why?


because XOXing is illegal. Its not just illegal, its fringe, its not really supported by any but the most hated of criminals, and sticks out as the one issue not up for debate in THS. Almost every other technological aspect is up for debate, from cloning to genetic manipulation to bioplauges to mind uploading, but XOXing is universally considered evil. Which means every intelligence was either expensively converted from an organic, or expensively programmed from essentially scratch. If you do it any other way, you're Xoxing.



And I think this was very intentional when the setting was built.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by ericthered

Why?


because XOXing is illegal.

Only for SAIs. Perfectly fine for LAIs.

[Flyndaran]

Originally Posted by ericthered

I get the impression that organics are by far the cheapest minds in THS. You can get automation cheaply, but that only does the same thing again and again. If you want a fully intelligent mind, organics are the easy option.


Why?


because XOXing is illegal. Its not just illegal, its fringe, its not really supported by any but the most hated of criminals, and sticks out as the one issue not up for debate in THS. Almost every other technological aspect is up for debate, from cloning to genetic manipulation to bioplauges to mind uploading, but XOXing is universally considered evil. Which means every intelligence was either expensively converted from an organic, or expensively programmed from essentially scratch. If you do it any other way, you're Xoxing.



And I think this was very intentional when the setting was built.

That assumes sapient right out of the box is impossible. Even with THS superscience education, it takes weeks of growth and schooling to force a bioroid to be useful.
Sure an A.I. won't start off with years of experience the way a xoxed copy would, but they'll still start off much more skilled than one just grown.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

That assumes sapient right out of the box is impossible. Even with THS superscience education, it takes weeks of growth and schooling to force a bioroid to be useful.

Actually, what I assumed is that sapient right out of the box is a Xox, because it starts out identical to an existing and historical AI.



I suppose to some lesser extent it assumes you can't build an effectively unique AI by messing with some random input seeds and running server for a month