Fandom High School

Welcome to the last day in the Danger Shop! Which was bare today.

"Morning," Kitty greeted the class. "Last week I warned you that your final is going to be to program the Danger Shop yourself, so hopefully in the time since then you've figured out what you wanted to do. Hopefully you've learned something here, or at least had fun. So now you're going to take turns and set up your simulation, and we're going to see how you did!"

Today the students were in a small room with a computer for each of them. Think of any movie you've seen where the token hacker spent half the climax of the movie while the stars did action things. Small and dark and lit up with blue light from the computer. It looked like that.

"We've talked about ethics and ways not to use these sorts of skills, so we're not going into it again," Kitty assured them. "But today you're going to try and patch into the security cameras to a small fictional town in Everywhere, USA. You're going to try and bypass government security protocols and see what's going on in the town."

She ran through a quick explainer on how to do this, and said, "You have detailed instructions on how to do this on your tablets, so I'm going to see how you figure it out, and you have notebooks to take notes on what you find. If you need me, I'm right here."

Once again the class was in the Danger Shop, where an arena had been set up, with stands that were filled with fake cheering audience members.

"Sorry about last week, there was a thing I had to take care of back home," Kitty greeted them. "The last couple classes you designed and built you battlebots, today you see what they can do! You're going to put them against each other and see what happens. So without further adieu, let's get ready to rumble."

It didn't sound cool when she said it.

The Danger Shop today was made up like a workshop, with dozens of containers of parts and benches with tools on them, and a pile of sketchpads on a table.

"Morning, everyone. Before you got to build your own computer. Today you're going to start making a robot," Kitty greeted them. "There are all sorts of ethics when it comes to robots and artificial intelligence, what machines should and should not be used for, and the limits they should have. I, for instance, once got impaled by an AI who had gained actual sentience and been mistreated so much that she became murderous. Meanwhile you have things like Roombas and virtual assistants that will help you do all sorts of things and no one really thinks about it because they're everyday objects we're typically used to now. And even then Alexa is spying on you. What I'm saying is, you have to be careful what you're putting out there, and you should really think about what it is you're doing.

"Today we're totally not going to think about that yet. You're going to design a Battlebots. Basically, those are robots that will fight each other in a ring. This is going to be a three-part project: this week we design, and you can start working on it if you have time, next week you'll build, and the week after that, we're going to face off against each other. Anyone have any questions? If not, grab a pad and get to work!"

Kitty had emailed the class to tell them to come to the normal classroom today, which looked pretty not-computer-y.

"I was trying to be nice," she said, looking very close to a facepalm, "because I figured maybe this week would be weird and maybe you all could relax a bit and enjoy a movie, and the attempt was to get something cheesy and computer-related, something from the 90s when people were vastly wrong about what the internet was. Instead, the rental was... something else. I'm really sorry. Maybe there's a lesson?"

And with that, she hit play.

It was the Lindsay Lohan version, too.

Today the class was back in the Danger Shop, which was done up like a huge museum, with computers of all sizes behind glass displays.

Some of the displays were very large.

"Today we're going to start off with some history," Kitty began, ( talky class is talky )

Kitty had done this particular class before, and she'd fully intended to skip it this year in favor of some more 'repair' type classes later in the semester.

And then last week's class had happened and she figured maybe it was a good idea to get this one in there.

So today the Danger Shop was done up like a game show set, all bright colors and lights, and each student had a podium to stand by with their names written on them. Kitty herself had sets of index cards to read off of, just like all the classic hosts who didn't need to memorize lines.

"Goooood morning, class!" she said brightly. "Welcome to today's episode of Is It Ethical?"

As she said that, glitter shot out of the podiums, and an invisible TV audience said the title along with her.

"You're going to get a series of questions! Buzz in with your answer, and tell us-"

"Is it Ethical?" the audience yelled for her.

Kitty was just barely on time for class today. She'd had to teach a class first thing in New York, then had to catch a portal back here, and by now she was just slightly frazzled. Luckily class today meant that the Danger Shop looked exactly like it did when it wasn't in use.

"First off, sorry about last week. Trust me when I say I would have rathered being here," she greeted them. "This is our last class, and hopefully you learned something, or at least had fun. And for today, you're going to try your hand at programming the Danger Shop yourself. You've seen some ideas of what it can do now, and you're going to get your tablet full of instructions, so everyone's going to have a turn to show what you come up with here. Who wants to go first?"

Once everyone had gotten to the Danger Shop, they'd find themselves in what looked like a security room in a bank. There were screens and computers everywhere, and plenty of places for them all to sit. There were bonuses to small classes.

"We've done plenty with trying to get into things so far," Kitty began, "but today you're going to try and prevent that. You're working security for this bank. The Danger Shop's been programmed to act as hackers breaking into the bank's systems and steal all the money electronically. Your job is to stop them. I'll give you a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with the system, and then it's going to start, so hopefully that few minutes is enough. Better get started..."

Today the class was in the Danger Shop, but it looked just like the normal Danger Shop, with nothing set up.

"Last week I told you we weren't going to touch on ethics again, but then the news blew up and I figured screw that, we should probably go over some ethics, because the things you learn in this class could be rife with opportunities for abuse," Kitty said. "And while I don't think any of you would do that, it's better to have an open discussion about it than not to have it. So take a seat on the floor if you want, this is gonna be a talky class.

"This isn't about harassment and I don't want to say this is equal to that, but there's something to be learned about power, here, and respecting people, and looking at the consequences of your actions. The most important thing I might have to tell you is simple: just because you can do something doesn't mean you should," she went on. "Last week we figured out how to hack security systems in a town. Typically, you shouldn't do it because you have no reason to. You might get a reason. But then what do you consider a good reason to be able to spy on a community? What are the consequences of doing that? If you're hacking the systems for a public space, is it an invasion of privacy for your own personal gain?

"Back home, I worked at a school that has a room much like this." Well, technically she still worked there, but it was a different name now, and it was a whole big thing. "Over the years, the artificial intelligence was modified and worked on, fused with alien technology until it gained sentience and was trapped. Once that AI was free and took form, she chose a gender, she chose her own name, and she tried to kill us all because that was essentially what she'd been programmed to do until it all went out of control. The vast majority of us working there had no idea this was happening, and let me tell you, I think about that every time I step in that room, or even in this one. Recently in the news: sex robots. They give robots artificial intelligence and let them learn about you, and then you can do whatever you want with it. When you give something the ability to learn, but it's not actually a person, is that okay, or is it the creepiest ever? And does your opinion on that change after I told you about what happened with the Danger Room?

"I want to hear your thoughts," Kitty said. "If you have an opinion about anything I just said, or questions, get it out there. Or if there's anything else you want to talk about on the topic. And if there's something you'd rather not talk about in class, you're more than welcome to see me after. I'll kick the squirrels out and everything."

They were still in the Danger Shop today, but it was made up to look like a theater. One with reclining seats.

"So it's Halloween, and no ones going to want to do anything today," she said, "so sit back, relax, and enjoy the movie."

It was a pretty happy-looking Kitty who greeted the students at the Danger Shop today, which looked... interesting.

"Before the trip I set up a class to have you design a game, but I guess the program corrupted and made it way better," she explained. "Instead, you get to play it. You need to get up to the princess who's being guarded by a barrel-throwing gorilla- I didn't design this- and if you can do that, you get to the next level. Let's see how far you can get."

Computer science, gym class, same thing.

The class was definitely in the Danger Shop this week, which was made to look like a huge room filled with displays in glass, like in a museum.

( knowledge under the cut )

Today the Danger Shop looked... a lot like a computer lab from 1992.

"Hey, guys," Kitty half-sighed. "So I had plans, and then the Danger Shop had a little issue, and so I rearranged things and now you guys are getting a little bit of a flashback to possibly before you were born, depending on when and where you came from, of course. These are computers that were used back in the early 90's. They were big and boxy, you couldn't carry them around, and they didn't do much. But, you could play games.

"And that's your lesson today. Start it up, pick a game, or two or three if you find them boring, and have fun."

The first class was meeting in the computer lab, and Kitty had sent out emails about that, and also put a note on the door of the classroom so anyone who maybe wasn't up on 2017 Earth tech would still know where they were.

"Hiya, guys," Kitty greeted them. It felt weirdly good to be dressed like a teacher when her last couple weeks had involved things like replacing flooring, and lugging damaged furniture around. "Welcome to Computer Science. My name's Kitty Pryde-Barton, and I don't really care what you call me. I've got some pretty extensive experience with programming and building computers and dealing with all sorts of systems, and I'm going to teach you guys as much of that as I can in the next semester. My rule, though, is that we only use our powers for good. If I find out you're using these skills to rob a bank or whatever, or bully someone, or whatever, you'll get detention along with the potential criminal charges. Now, most of the time you'll be in the Danger Shop, where we can do more practical stuff, but we have a reason to be at real computers today.

"But first, it's the traditional introduction week. I just want to go around and have you give me your name and when or where you're from, along with how much experience you have. I just want to know where we're starting. Who wants to go first?"

Once everyone had gotten to the Danger Shop, they'd find themselves in what looked like a security room in a bank. There were screens and computers everywhere, and plenty of places for them all to sit. There were bonuses to small classes.

"We've done plenty with trying to get into things so far," Kitty began, "but today you're going to try and prevent that. You're working security for this bank. The Danger Shop's been programmed to act as hackers breaking into the bank's systems and steal all the money electronically. Your job is to stop them. I'll give you a few minutes to familiarize yourselves with the system, and then it's going to start, so hopefully that few minutes is enough. Better get started..."

Kitty wasn't here today! For reasons! But as she'd said last week, she'd arranged for the Danger Shop to be made up like the lab again. There was also a note on the door:

Get in there and get to work! You're presenting your suits next week.

And don't try to skip out early. The Danger Shop is watching.

It wasn't. But it was worth a shot.

There was no Danger Shop today. No, they were in the good old-fashioned computer lab!

"We're going to go a little old school," Kitty told them. "You are going to build your own websites. I don't care what it's about. I'm not going to complain about content. By the end of class, I want to see how far you get, and if it's something you want to continue working on after class, go for it. You've done enough big stuff in this class, I'm sure you can find answers on Google if you get stuck. So get started, and if you need me, I'm here."

An.y.way.

Class was in the Danger Shop today, which looked a lot like the hangar straight out of the Xavier School, complete with a Blackbird. And Kitty at least looked to be in a good mood, but she'd also been around the block a few times on this recurring event.

"So it's one of those weeks, and so I'm going to set you to work doing some detail-oriented stuff," she said. "This is the Blackbird. It's a jet. You're going to get to work together to upgrade its systems. There are iPads around with instructions if you need help, but if you want to try giving it some features you just think it should have, it's the Danger Shop, so have at it. I'll be over here, and no one try anything in class."

The class met in the Danger Shop today, which wasn't set up at all. "This is going to be a discussion class," Kitty greeted them. "We talked about ethics, and at one point I specifically asked you guys about your opinions on artificial intelligence. Your opinions varied kind of a lot, and since we're actually going to be trying to create AIs next week, there are some things we should go over.

"So, AIs can be a lot of different things. Siri on your phone is an AI, that acts as your personal assistant. There are smart houses out there that are AIs. Then you've got robots and things like that. And in theory, they're great. They're helpful, and make life easier. But you've also gotta know what you're doing, and what you're setting yourself up for. Sometimes these things get personalities, which can make them more personable, and almost like friends. But that also means they might get personalities that make things a hell of a lot more difficult. So I'm going to tell you a story. Where I come from, we have a room like this for training and things like that. It's an AI that was given some added technology that gave it sentience, only no one knew it. Well, one person did, but he decided it was more helpful to keep things as they were. So when the AI was able to give herself form, give herself a gender, be given a name, she pretty much knew how to kill us and totally tried."

Hopefully by now the students were considering that they were in a room just like that, and were really thinking about what that could mean.

"I'm not saying that AIs are good or bad," she said. "But I do want you to consider that what you do has consequences, and that you need to handle that kind of thing like adults. Or at least come up with a contingency plan if something goes wrong. So we're going to talk. Why do you think they're good or bad? In a case like I described, what would you do about it and why?"

The class was definitely in the Danger Shop this week, which was made to look like a huge room filled with displays in glass, like in a museum.

( computers through the ages: there are a lot of words )

Aww, it was kind of nice to be back in the classroom if you were Kitty and had just had a terrible time lately. This was nice and normal.

"Morning, everybody, and welcome to Computer Science," Kitty greeted them. "If you're in the wrong class, feel free to head out now with no judgment, and if you were signed up by accident... sorry. You're stuck with me. For those who don't know me, I'm Kitty Pryde, and I've had some freakishly extensive experience with computers, hacking, programming... All that fun stuff. You're going to learn some of it. My only caveat is that you don't use anything you learn here for bad reasons. Like, if I find out you're using it to hack into a bank or whatever, you're absolutely getting detention in addition to the probable police investigation. So, normally we'll be in the Danger Shop, where you'll get simulations where you're going to have to compute your way through them, and that's why today's important: introductions! You get me first, before you get sick of these, but. We're going to go around the room, and I want you to tell me who you are, what kind of experience with all this you have, and whether you think you need help in any certain area. If you don't have much or don't know what you need help with, that's fine, we'll work with it. All right, let's start with you."