fandomhigh | [Computer Science - Week 12, 4th Period]

Computer Science was in the Danger Room today ~~like every other class, apparently~~, though as everyone walked in, the room looked like nothing more than a large arena.

"So, following last week with the war games, here's another way of simulating real world events. The Danger Room, as some of you know, is a resource the teachers of Fandom have access to in case they want to demonstrate something or have students participate in an activity that would be otherwise impossible in a classroom setting."

The brightly lit interior of the Danger Room disappeared suddenly, leaving the students standing in the alley way beside a small warehouse-like building in the middle of a city.

"I mocked up a simulation for you guys, but it's not as in depth as this kind of technology can achieve when expertly plotted and programmed," he said, leading them up the ramp to the inside of the building. People walked around, leading bicycles or watching tv in the loft area, ignoring the students for the moment while Logan continued. "If you put enough effort in, this can be absolutely seamless and difficult to tell from the real thing. As it is, there are a few glitches that can show you that, at the end, they're not actually there."

He gestured at one guy with a bicycle, who headed down the ramp with his bike and disappeared around the corner -- a moment later, the guy walked in the back door of the room, collected his bike, and walked down the ramp again.

"Go ahead and talk to some of the people around here and see how limited they are in conversation," he said. "End of the class, I expect you to be able to tell me about at least one of these people, at least enough to give their name and what city this is supposed to be in."

[OOC: Note to self? No more posting at work. It no likey.

~~ETA -- heading home, will be back @ 6pm PST~~ Back now!]

[Syllabus/Attendance]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Logan's there to get the names, or be asked questions if that's what you need.

"That girl is Max, and we are in Seattle." Ami said. "So... the guy i talked to seemed programed to not talk about himself except to hit on people..."

"Nicely done," Logan said, nodding. "And you don't think he talked about himself enough that way?"

"He never said anything useful. Although now i know he has dated everyone here. Which i guess could be useful information. He seemed unable to tell his name."

"I designed them to make it difficult to get the information immediately," he admitted. "You could get the information more easily in a roundabout manner, like hearing Max's name from him."

"Right. And he told me we were in Seattle when he told me about the work that is done here. They are not true AIs then, are they?"

"They're meant to be a low-level simulation of the real Jam Pony business," he said. "They could handle conversation on certain topics and would attempt to lead the person they were speaking to away from the goal. The Danger Room could very well have made them more complicated and lifelike if I'd taken the time, but there would have been little point."

Ami nodded. "Do you think the Danger Room could program one who would pass the Turing Test?"

"Definitely," he said. "The technology in this room is far beyond anything I know. What little I understand leads me to believe it could very well appear completely human up until the point it tried to leave the room and found itself unable to."

"I wonder if anyone outside the island knows. I think... current thinking on AI at least where and when i am from is that it is impossible..."

Later, Rikku found Logan and recited her handy list of what was what.

"Okay, so. The grumpy dude with the headset? His name is, uh." She tried to decipher the handwriting on her slip of paper and failed. "I don't know. But he wrote it here, and that should totally count. He runs this bike messenger place, and I'm glad he's not real 'cause he thinks I'm starting work here."

"The real shakey dude? He lost a package and is totally wigging about it. I didn't get his name at all but he said we're in Seattle so that's a bonus."

"The girl over there in the lounge is Max, and she's upset about the news 'cause she's a transgenics and lots of normal people think bad things about them 'cause the government sucks and lies about them. Kinda like the Al Bhed thing."

"And this last guy is Alec, but not Alec that's in cheerleading with me, except it kinda seems like him but different. I think he's a transgenics, too, 'cause of what he said about Max. And he totally thinks we're going out for drinks or something and so I'm kinda glad he's not real, too, cause I seriously can't."

She took a deep breath. "I think that's it. They seem like neat people. Are they friends of yours?"

Logan blinked at Rikku, nodding as she recited. "Wow, I'm impressed. You did very well," he said. "You could say they're friends of mine, though these are pretty pale imitations of them, and the Alec you know here at Fandom is a younger version of the Alec from my home." He grinned.

"Thank you!" Rikku bounced a little, enthusiastically. "I'd do way better on more assignments if I just had to talk to people. People are usually pretty interesting if you get to know them."

"Oooh, so it is Alec? I thought it was, like, here-Alec at first, and I asked him about recent stuff and he kinda - got weird." She shook her head. "And it was kinda cheating to tell us to get names and then make them all, 'no, I'm not telling you that.'"

He smirked. "Still, you figured it out. And he is rather low-intelligence, at least for an AI. He wasn't programmed to be recognized by someone who knew him outside of the simulation."

She laughed. "Yeah, I kinda did it roundabout. Like, they were all 'Me? I don't have a name,' but if you asked the other ones they'd mention it. And if you keep people talking long enough they'll say way more than they realize they are."

Rikku considered. "The transgenics thing. Max and Alec. Are they ... okay? 'Cause it sounded like people were being pretty awful to them."

Logan's smirk softened. "They're doing better. A year ago, there was a stand off, but some things were uncovered and people are starting to realize the transgenics aren't the ones at fault."

[Computer Science - Week 12, 4th Period]

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