[UT/Thinking Machines] Biocomputers

[Flyndaran]

Growing gargantuan computers in the ocean. I think THS mentions sponge computers somewhere.
It would only take limited superscience to make them important in a campaign world.

[gjc8]

Originally Posted by wellspring

by TL12 (when I'm assuming this is possible) getting a conventional implant is easy and superior in pretty much every way.

By TL12, I'm not convinced you couldn't create heritable non-biological implants, if you really wanted to. Self-reproducing nanomachines that live in people's bodies, and build the implant when they're programmed to. And the nanomachine "infection" is passed between mother and fetus (this being TL12, actual pregnancy may not be the norm for reproduction, admittedly).

Of course, you need to get materials to them, which might be a little bit tricky, depending on what exactly you need.

[David Johnston2]

Originally Posted by wellspring

Of course, this all begs the question: why bother? You're getting an implant that's 18 years out of date by the time you hit adulthood, and by TL12 (when I'm assuming this is possible) getting a conventional implant is easy and superior in pretty much every way. But that's getting it backwards. As a story premise, it could be a fun twist.

By TL 12, being 18 years out of date might not be a big issue. In fact with Ultra-Techs base assumptions it probably isn't an issue unless you have an accelerated tech progression. Either way, having a biocomputer skull implant might be handy for people who want to avoid having a readily detectable computer implant. Of course that would require a rewrite of the rule because in that case your body is the life support system. And it would be impervious to EMPs.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by gjc8

By TL12, I'm not convinced you couldn't create heritable non-biological implants, if you really wanted to.

By TL12 (4e) you can assume just about anything and have it be equally plausible or not.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by malloyd

In fact it does. If it worked at all a biocomputer would be 4 orders of magnitude slower than a digital computer of the same size - and something like 10 orders of magnitude slower and a million times heavier than one with a similar number of components. A brain is not a biocomputer, it's a completely different technology, with different capabilities and limitations. Calling all kinds of information processing machines "computers" is faddish, and somewhat supported in some verisons of GURPS by extending complexity ratings to simple mechanical devices, but likely to be deceptive. One of these days there are going to be multiple different kinds, and we'll need different names for them.

Still, the term 'computer' is now so ingrained that it'll quite plausibly, maybe probably, be used for all of them, with modifying words.

[droid17]

i have a questions of this bio-computer subject....

why the Denver AI is so interested in harvest brain cells from human babies or fetuses????

i don't know too much of neurology that is why i am asking this.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by droid17

why the Denver AI is so interested in harvest brain cells from human babies or fetuses????

Because it's a Villainous Plot. Seriously, don't overthink it. Or invent a reason; if you've got things like psychic powers, brain harvesting may be useful.

[droid17]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Because it's a Villainous Plot. Seriously, don't overthink it. Or invent a reason; if you've got things like psychic powers, brain harvesting may be useful.

ok ok, sorry to ask. is that when an author writes something in his scifi novel or rpg book i allways wonder if is there a logical reason behind it.
that's all.

[wellspring]

Originally Posted by droid17

ok ok, sorry to ask. is that when an author writes something in his scifi novel or rpg book i allways wonder if is there a logical reason behind it.
that's all.

There may well be, but if they haven't revealed it yet, they probably won't in the forum.

Look at the previous replies. The AI could be taking advantage of any one of these unique capabilities of brain tissue.