Lt.Cmdr Taelon & Lt.JG Choi Ji-hu - Symposium (JP/NT | BACKSIM)

[Lieutenant Commander Taelon]

(( Starbase 118 Science Department - AI & Cybernetics Symposium ))

:: It wasn’t as if the starbase’s science department was usually bereft of people, but with the symposium, the halls were suddenly packed. The distant din of voices echoed up through the 3-deck height of the atrium, making Taelon quietly glad his office was largely soundproofed. 

Had this been happening a few months ago, he’d have been excited. Hell, he had been excited when he’d been told as an Ensign that it was scheduled for the next year. But now that they’d stuck him in charge of the station’s scientific departments, he suddenly had to be a lot more involved. 

And make presentations. That was the worst part. 

Thankfully those were scheduled for tomorrow. Less thankfully, he still needed and wanted to attend the presentations over the first few days, which left less time to panic over his own work. 

So he sat and listened and grew increasingly worried about what he was hearing. ::

::Ji-hu flipped to the last card in his presentation. Turing had organized his notes on the Constitution’s retrofitting and Wyn had given him some sort of anti-anxiety cocktail just before his presentation. He’d been a wreck that morning, but whatever had been in that hypo left him feeling like the dial had been turned down and he could focus entirely on the words in front of him. The anxiety was still there, but was just background noise, like the murmuring sea of scientists in front of him. He wondered if this was how normal people felt.

::He’d gone through his team’s retrofitting of the Constitution’s computer systems step by step, with the moderator, a Dr. T’Rer, an AI specialist from the Vulcan Science Academy, asking the occasional question. His stuttering had been kept to a minimum, he was proceeding on time… he’d even opened with a joke Ensign Frag had leant him: “Three computer programmers walk into a bar...”

::Now he was coming to the end of his talk, “Symbiotic Frameworks for Starfleet's Holographic Beings.” From all the lectures he’d been to he knew the conclusion was when you explored future applications, and he’d been giving that very subject a great deal of thought as he began to move into his new role as the Constitution’s Research & Development specialist.::

Choi: As we move into the 25th century the Federation will be increasingly w-welcoming a new species to the proverbial table: artificial intelligence… true artificial intelligence, with sentience and agency. This requires great care from those of us who develop artificial, sentient life, b-b-but the applications of this field are… well, the sky’s the limit!

::He changed the slide and showed schematics for a starship that he and the ESPO team had pulled together, with his baby at the centre.::

Choi: Since I was a child, I was fascinated by the work of Dr. Noonian Soong. His cybernetic work was groundbreaking, unprecedented, and as we begin to grasp the c-c-complexity of his genius, we can incorporate it into the fabric of the Federation. I would like to pr-propose a framework for a new computer operating system… and a new lifeform that could help Starfleet boldly go into the future.

::He took a breath.::

Choi: My team and I have begun setting the groundwork for a positronic computer core. Implemented, this could create a fully sentient starship or starbase, an operating system that can not only compute, but collaborate, that can work side by side with its crew. A positronic computer core could be helping the Captain plot a course through a nebula, while aiding its science crew in data collection and interpretation, while offering reports to security officers on the welfare of the complement. In essence, the ship would be a fully sentient crew member that cares about the crew and, hopefully, is cared for in return.

::He took a breath. There were whispers running through the crowd.::

T’Rer: Would this not make organic crewmembers obsolete?

Choi: N-not at all! The positronic computer core would have latitudinal, not horizontal control. It would have a job, could offer perspective and considerations, like any other member of the crew, b-b-but would have to make decisions in conjunction with its fellow crewmembers, with the captain at the head. Just like LCARS compliments the work of archivists and academics, the positronic computer core would grow and learn alongside its crewmembers. It would emulate those who built it and, like them, seek to contribute to the galaxy in a helpful, meaningful way.

T’Rer: On this intriguing notion, which I’m sure our audience will have plenty of perspective to contribute, I’m afraid we will have to end as our time is up. One final question, Lieutenant Choi. Does your project have a name?

Choi: ::grinning:: The Turing Core!

(( Brief Timeskip ))

::Ji-hu had been crowded by a handful of scientist who wanted to share their perspective on his retrofitting, or offer their opinions on the Turing Core. He did his best to field them, but he could already feel the anti-anxiety medication wearing off, and he longed to escape to the Greasy Spoon with Wyn for some much needed junk food. Luckily an announcement came on that a much anticipated cybernetic ethics panel was starting down the hall, so the crowd started to disperse.

::Taelon approached through the dissipating crowd, the tall El-Aurian twisting one of his sleeves nervously. Regardless, he walked with some level of purpose.::

Taelon: Lieutenant Choi? 

Choi: ::glancing up:: Yes! Hello!

Taelon: I-if you have a moment, I had some additional conc - questions. If you have time. 

Choi: Ah… of c-course! That’s… that’s why I’m here! And thank you for coming… uh...

::Taelon nodded gratefully, then froze.::

Taelon: O-oh, right, I’m - Lieutenant - I mean, Commander Taelon. I’m the chief of science here. S-supposedly, anyway. 

::Ji-hu’s eyes widened slightly. The CSO of Starbase 118. A Galaxy-class vessel was big, but he couldn’t even begin to imagine the scope of the Starbase’s science department… the kind of work they must be doing…::

::He really wished Wyn was beside him to hit him with another dose of hypo.::

Choi: Wow! I c-c-can’t believe you took the time… I m-mean… it’s a gr-great honour, sir! I w-w-would love to hear about your w-work… I mean, I’d also love to answer your questions, C-Commander Taelon, sir!

::Taelon was given momentary pause - it was the first time he’d ever been out-stuttered. He blinked and forced his mind back on track.::

Taelon: The t- I mean, of course, y-yes. Your project, the Turning Core - Turing ::He hurried corrected himself.:: It’s a project your w-whole group is working on?

Choi: Right! Yes! The Turing Core! It’s pr-pretty exciting, I’m moving into an R&D r-role aboard the Constitution, and I’m sort of… well, tackling the p-positronic problem from scratch! Well… n-n-not from complete scratch, obviously. But starting… uh… fresh?

Taelon: I, uh, I see….how f-far along is it?

Choi: Oh! Very… VERY initial stages! We want to m-m-make sure we have the understanding to maintain a stable network before we even start thinking about introducing a program to induce s-sentience… Not… uh… something to b-be taken lightly!

::Taelon nodded; he couldn’t question that sort of logic, certainly, even if he himself tended to just wing things far more than the rest of his crew would’ve liked to know. He gestured out the doors towards the Atrium as another crowd started to filter into the lecture hall.::

Taelon: I, um, have some t-thoughts, if you’d l-like to hear them. M-might be best to step outside, s-so we’re not disturbing people. 

Choi: Uh… sure! I’d love to hear your… your thoughts! Commander! … Sir!

Taelon: Uh, T-Taelon’ll do. 

Choi: Oh! Sure! I’m Ji-hu, s-- ... Taelon.

::Taelon led the way to the atrium, stopping with a hand on the railing that overlooked the three-deck drop. With active lectures starting again, the walkway grew quieter, so you could almost hear the fountains on the lowest deck.:: 

Taelon: S-so, you mentioned you were l-looking at the work of Soong, for, um, starships and starbases…

Choi: Right! Adopting his positronic neural network designs into a… a fully integrated computer core! The network would replace shipwide isolinear and bioneural hardware, with the positronic core as it’s… well, it’s br-brain!

::Taelon wasn’t a good actor; his expression twitched slightly, and he let his breath out. He’d read extensively about the androids the good doctor had built, and had come to the conclusion that the work was questionable. But given the doctor’s fame it wasn’t an opinion he was all that willing to be public about.:: 

Taelon: I-I guess my concern - question - is, well… why? ::He looked at Choi and smiled slightly.:: I-I mean, the basic idea isn’t, isn’t crazy or, or anything. But - why sentience? W-what you described seems perfectly a-achievable with a standard AI suite. 

Choi: Oh… I m-mean… that’s a really g-g-good question, si--Taelon.

::Ji-hu was mortified. The CSO of Starbase 118 questioning the very existence of an idea at the start of a monumental undertaking he had just presented on. His mind, of course, drew a complete blank.::

Choi: Well… we’ve already… started down the road… haven’t we? I mean, on the Constitution, we already have sentient AI… holographic beings and such as part of our crew. From m-my understanding, one of them was created on a whim, and the other w-w-was created by accident, and then threatened to be erased! If we have that technology… uh, if it already exists, it needs to be implemented more responsibly!

Taelon: W-well, I mean, yes….

Choi: And… I guess, sir, I’ve never felt c-comfortable about Starfleet using AI that pushes the border of sentience and stops just short. I th-th-think there’s… an argument that it’s exploitative. Creating an artificial being that can have complex thoughts, b-but without the free will to do so... It’s like… like a preemptive lobotomy! Does that make sense?

Taelon: I - ::He raised his eyebrows.:: They’re tools, t-though. 

Choi: Well… well that’s the thing! We think of starships as vehicles… or tools, but… but with a sentient AI core, we w-would have to reconceptualize what a starship can be! A colleague, and maybe a friend! I think… I think the word symbiosis is helpful? A Turing Core ship would have self-preservation instincts, and w-would want to protect itself. Likewise, the crew w-w-want to keep themselves alive. The crew can offer their skills in maintaining and repairing the ship, caring for it, while the ship offers its vast power to h-help the crew… do so…

Taelon: I - ::He paused, and looked out over the edge of the railing again.:: I think it’s equally cruel, t-though. 

Choi: ::wide-eyed with horror:: Cruel?!

Taelon: W-what I mean is… starships, starbases, t-they are tools. It’s a fact of, of how things o-operate. We can a-assume that a ship will want to be a ship, but what if it doesn’t? I-it’s in the rights of a sentient being to choose it-its life path. W-what do you do if you f-find out… I, um, I guess the Constitution, right? ::He waved a hand, vaguely.:: W-what if it decides it’d rather go serve the Dominion?

Choi: ::nodding, smiling:: That’s the problem w-with sentience, I guess! If a Turing Core wanted to do s-s-something else with it’s life… that’s so exciting! … Don’t get me wrong, sir! I’m not s-suggesting we create a Utopia Planitia assembly line and churn them out. It’d be a… a very deliberate process, and a sentient AI core would have the ultimate say in it’s… it’s existence.

Taelon: S-so can it override its Captain? 

::He trailed off, and ducked his head apologetically.:: 

Taelon: I-I’m not...trying to discourage you, not… not necessarily. B-but sentience can be as much of a curse as it is a gift, I-I think. Especially w-when it’s given to something as powerful as a starship. 

Choi: … Right. Yeah. And… I… guess it’s not without… precedent.

::Ji-hu suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He was bad at parsing emotions on the best of days, but he was getting the impression that Commander Taelon was as much a bundle of neuroses as he was, and that there was something else going on, not just a CSO challenging an experimental idea by a green scientist.::

Choi: I just remember the stories about Lt. Commander Data… he was.. g-g-given sentience and free will… and great power, and look what he did with it... 

Taelon: But Data, and other programs like him...they’re, they’re shaped l-like us. O-on our scale. W-we can relate to them, embrace them. S-some even see them as being the same as us. But a starship… i-imagine being turned into one. N-no one you can talk to can speak to you eye-to-eye, all the things similar t-to you aren’t like you…

::He chewed his lip, and did finally sigh, standing up fully.::

Taelon: I….I’m sorry, Ji-Hu. I’m, I’m not unbiased. Have you...have you ever seen a Borg? 

Choi: ::feeling increasingly uncomfortable:: Uh… no.

Taelon: I...I have. And I worry that’s….that’s w-what would happen if a sentient machine can’t relate to us. ::He smiled, though it was mostly an attempt to be reassuring.:: I, um. I’m also an El-Aurian, so… 

Choi: Oh. ::pause:: Shit. ::pause:: I mean, crap. Sir.

::Taelon looked at him in surprise, blue eyes bugged out, and then he laughed. It was loud and very geninue.::

Taelon: I-I’m sorry, people usually don’t, um, don’t… ::He waved a hand.:: I guess the point I’m trying, and uh, f-failing to make is that y-you have to consider what’s at the far end of the road, y-you know? I, um, I love robots. And cybernetics. B-but their relations with us are what make the sentient ones able to achieve things, I-I think. When they become bigger than us, s-so different they can’t relate...do they need us? And w-what happens if they don’t? J-just, you know. M-my robots are my parents. 

Choi: Parents?!

::Taelon made a choking noise.::

Taelon: I mean partners! Partners, friends, you know….that...not…

Choi: I just… I’ve… made friends with the holographic beings on the Constitution… I h-hope. And they don’t have to be… people, like, they could take the shape of whatever they want. B-but… they have friends and even, kind of… family aboard. And I think they subscribe to the s-s-same… unwritten… you know… contract we all do. They… aren’t Borg. And if I tackle m-m-my project the way I hope to… I don’t plan on creating a killing machine, Taelon.

::Taelon closed his eyes, and nodded.::

Taelon: I just - I just wanted to make sure you’re….thinking about that. After, after what Soong did, people seems so...rosy about it. It’s, it’s worrying. This isn’t s-something to rush into. So...I’m, I’m glad you’ve thought about it. And...and if you’d like….like help, I’d be happy to d-do what I can. 

Choi: Oh wow! Yeah! I m-mean… just having the… CSO of Starbase 118 on as an advisor… and your w-work sounds really, really interesting! I mean… if you are interested!

Taelon: ::Taelon smiled at that.:: I, uh...I’m not much, but thank you? I’m, I’m interested. V-very. I have...uh, I have to present on cybernetic and robotic things, if you’re interested in s-seeing that….

Choi: Yes! That sounds great! And m-m-maybe later you’d like to do lunch with me and my… Wyn? Uh… my… he’s the CMO of the Constitution, and he’s here with me.

::The two of them started to timidly make their way through the crush of people trying to get into the ethics panel, which was blocking the entire hallway. Ji-hu felt suddenly exhausted, the adrenaline he hadn’t realized had been coursing through his body during his presentation, maintained by the conversation with Taelon.::

Choi: He’s… uh… very relaxing. Not like… all this.

Taelon: I, ah, that’d be n-nice. M-my own CMO and s-some of our s-staff don’t…..they don’t like cybernetics much. H-hopefully yours is a bit more….p-progressive? ::He looked unsure for a moment, but couldn’t think of a better word.:: 

Choi: Wyn, he uh… lives with one of the holographic beings and a… Betazoid teenager he has guardianship over? Still not totally sure how all that came about, but he’s a really amazing guy.

Taelon: ::He smiled again, but it was very tiredly.:: I w-was looking forward to this, until the Captain put me in charge. 

Choi: Yeah, it’s a pretty big… I mean, there are a lot of people here!

::Taelon was about to answer before a yell at the end of the hall echoed their way. Someone had seen a large spider. Taelon slumped.:: 

Taelon: D-does your CMO have an issue with alcohol…?

Choi: ::laughing:: He bartends, actually! And then has m-meds to sober you up after.

Taelon: Oh, thank the goddesses. I’m going to need a lot of it. 

END

A JP by:

Lieutenant Commander Taelon

Chief Science Officer

Starbase 118 OPs

O239303T10

&

Lieutenant (JG) Choi Ji-hu

Engineering Officer

USS Constitution-B

C239402CJ0