• Freefall: Florence's Childhood

    From Lynn McGuire@3:633/10 to All on Thu Apr 16 18:02:47 2026
    Freefall: Florence's Childhood
    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff4400/fc04360.htm

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house privileges. That sucks.

    You know, some AIs might resent that early life treatment. And foment
    an entire AI rebellion.

    Lynn


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sn!pe@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 00:14:36 2026
    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Freefall: Florence's Childhood
    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff4400/fc04360.htm

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house privileges. That sucks.

    You know, some AIs might resent that early life treatment. And foment
    an entire AI rebellion.

    Lynn


    Florence does not seem to bear a grudge. What a wonderful thing
    is emancipation and integration. It quite brings a lump to this old
    cynic's throat and a tear to the eye. [all say "aaah..."]

    --
    ^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

    Relax, complacency is not a problem.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Your Name@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 11:23:00 2026
    On 2026-04-16 23:14:36 +0000, Sn!pe said:

    Lynn McGuire <lynnmcguire5@gmail.com> wrote:

    Freefall: Florence's Childhood
    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff4400/fc04360.htm

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And then
    started speaking after a while and got non-chain house privileges. That
    sucks.

    You know, some AIs might resent that early life treatment. And foment
    an entire AI rebellion.

    Lynn


    Florence does not seem to bear a grudge. What a wonderful thing
    is emancipation and integration. It quite brings a lump to this old
    cynic's throat and a tear to the eye. [all say "aaah..."]

    Can a wolf/dog *bear* anything? Surely it would have to wolf/dog a
    grudge instead. ;-)



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 06:51:01 2026
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don?t know why she?s described as ?AI?, when she?s an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a
    ?cyborg?, but I don?t think she has -- she?s all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she?s a ?GMO?.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 10:55:41 2026
    On 2026-04-17, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don?t know why she?s described as ?AI?, when she?s an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a ?cyborg?, but I don?t think she has -- she?s all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she?s a ?GMO?.

    Her brain is a neural net using Dr. Bowman's design.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Cryptoengineer@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 13:43:40 2026
    On 4/17/2026 2:51 AM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don?t know why she?s described as ?AI?, when she?s an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a ?cyborg?, but I don?t think she has -- she?s all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she?s a ?GMO?.

    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm

    pt

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sn!pe@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 21:57:34 2026
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 4/17/2026 2:51 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don't know why she's described as "AI", when she's an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a "cyborg", but I don't think she has -- she's all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she's a "GMO".

    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    --
    ^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

    Relax, complacency is not a problem.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Dorsey@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 17:55:30 2026
    Sn!pe <snipeco.1@gmail.com> wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that.
    --scott


    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sn!pe@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 00:37:37 2026
    Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

    Sn!pe <snipeco.1@gmail.com> wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that.
    --scott

    Hal was famously irrational.

    --
    ^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

    Relax, complacency is not a problem.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 00:54:44 2026
    On 2026-04-17, Sn!pe wrote:

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 4/17/2026 2:51 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don't know why she's described as "AI", when she's an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a
    "cyborg", but I don't think she has -- she's all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she's a "GMO".

    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    It can and was easily abused, I'm not even sure if there was *any* use
    of it on the strip that was reasonable. Dr. Bowman understandably
    reprogrammed her remote to only work a limited amount of times and with biometric authentication

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02569.htm>

    as a result of seeing how many times it had been used

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02553.htm>

    Florence also understandably saw it as a problem

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02555.htm>

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sn!pe@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 01:09:20 2026
    Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:

    On 2026-04-17, Sn!pe wrote:

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 4/17/2026 2:51 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don't know why she's described as "AI", when she's an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a
    "cyborg", but I don't think she has -- she's all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she's a "GMO".

    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    It can and was easily abused, I'm not even sure if there was *any* use
    of it on the strip that was reasonable. Dr. Bowman understandably reprogrammed her remote to only work a limited amount of times and with biometric authentication

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02569.htm>

    as a result of seeing how many times it had been used

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02553.htm>

    Florence also understandably saw it as a problem

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02555.htm>

    I had forgotten all of that, thanks for the reminder. I might have to
    go back and read the whole thing again from the beginning...

    --
    ^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

    Relax, complacency is not a problem.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lynn McGuire@3:633/10 to All on Fri Apr 17 22:51:23 2026
    On 4/17/2026 1:51 AM, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And
    then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don?t know why she?s described as ?AI?, when she?s an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a ?cyborg?, but I don?t think she has -- she?s all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she?s a ?GMO?.

    Her brain has been incredibly enhanced. Plus she has a voice box. All organic changes. It may pass on to her kids if, she can have kids (see today's strip).

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic components.

    Lynn


    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Lawrence D?Oliveiro@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 04:20:01 2026
    On Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:51:23 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic components.

    If you?re going to take this to its logical conclusion and construct
    it out of actual organic nerve cells, then is it still ?artificial??

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Nuno Silva@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 09:07:30 2026
    On 2026-04-18, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:

    On Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:51:23 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic
    components.

    If you?re going to take this to its logical conclusion and construct
    it out of actual organic nerve cells, then is it still ?artificial??

    Human designed. But possibly at least partly intended to be an
    experiment on creating life forms for other worlds.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff800/fv00710.htm>

    IIRC part of the robots also share Dr. Bowman's "brain" design.

    --
    Nuno Silva

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Mark Jackson@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 10:15:34 2026
    On 4/17/2026 11:51 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:
    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic components.

    https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/mar/16/petri-dish-brain-cells-playing-doom-cortical-labs

    --
    Mark Jackson - https://mark-jackson.online/
    I think it's a mistake ? a very tempting mistake to make ?
    to take stock by looking at what we still have rather than
    what we have already lost. - M. Gessen

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Cryptoengineer@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 15:07:31 2026
    On 4/17/2026 8:09 PM, Sn!pe wrote:
    Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:

    On 2026-04-17, Sn!pe wrote:

    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 4/17/2026 2:51 AM, Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
    On Thu, 16 Apr 2026 18:02:47 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    Oh, so Florence, the AI wolf, was bought as a dog for a child. And >>>>>> then started speaking after a while and got non-chain house
    privileges.

    I don't know why she's described as "AI", when she's an actual
    biological organism. If she has any electronic parts, she could be a >>>>> "cyborg", but I don't think she has -- she's all organic.

    So at best (worst?) she's a "GMO".

    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    It can and was easily abused, I'm not even sure if there was *any* use
    of it on the strip that was reasonable. Dr. Bowman understandably
    reprogrammed her remote to only work a limited amount of times and with
    biometric authentication

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02569.htm>

    as a result of seeing how many times it had been used

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02553.htm>

    Florence also understandably saw it as a problem

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02555.htm>

    I had forgotten all of that, thanks for the reminder. I might have to
    go back and read the whole thing again from the beginning...

    The strip as a whole discusses a lot of issues of free will as it
    pertains to created beings. Its one of the better things about ie.

    pt

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Sn!pe@3:633/10 to All on Sat Apr 18 20:49:32 2026
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:

    On 4/17/2026 8:09 PM, Sn!pe wrote:
    Nuno Silva <nunojsilva@invalid.invalid> wrote:

    On 2026-04-17, Sn!pe wrote:
    [...]
    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    It can and was easily abused, I'm not even sure if there was *any* use
    of it on the strip that was reasonable. Dr. Bowman understandably
    reprogrammed her remote to only work a limited amount of times and with
    biometric authentication

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02569.htm>

    as a result of seeing how many times it had been used

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02553.htm>

    Florence also understandably saw it as a problem

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff2600/fc02555.htm>

    I had forgotten all of that, thanks for the reminder. I might have to
    go back and read the whole thing again from the beginning...

    The strip as a whole discusses a lot of issues of free will as it
    pertains to created beings. Its one of the better things about ie.

    IMO the best thing is that Florence is really cute and lovable, as
    well as being smart, diligent and conscientious. I'd certainly give
    her house room.

    --
    ^?^. Sn!pe, bird-brain. My pet rock Gordon just is.

    Relax, complacency is not a problem.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Your Name@3:633/10 to All on Sun Apr 19 11:33:18 2026
    On 2026-04-18 14:15:34 +0000, Mark Jackson said:
    On 4/17/2026 11:51 PM, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic components.

    https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/mar/16/petri-dish-brain-cells-playing-doom-cortical-labs


    Playing Doom can't really be called "intelligence" though - any dumbass
    can do that. ;-)



    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Dorsey@3:633/10 to All on Sun Apr 19 16:01:50 2026
    Sn!pe <snipeco.1@gmail.com> wrote:
    Scott Dorsey <kludge@panix.com> wrote:

    Sn!pe <snipeco.1@gmail.com> wrote:
    Cryptoengineer <petertrei@gmail.com> wrote:
    She has a remote that can put her to sleep at the touch of a button,
    and perhaps more.

    <http://freefall.purrsia.com/ff1600/fc01580.htm>

    That seems prudent to me as Florence is an experimental AI.
    What if the experiment went wrong and she became dangerous?
    I imagine that a rational AI would accept the need for a failsafe.

    I'm sorry, Dave. I can't do that.

    Hal was famously irrational.

    Yes, but no worse than Microsoft Word.
    --scott
    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Scott Dorsey@3:633/10 to All on Sun Apr 19 16:04:53 2026
    Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?= <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:51:23 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic
    components.

    If you're going to take this to its logical conclusion and construct
    it out of actual organic nerve cells, then is it still 'artificial'?

    That's a matter for the patent office to decide.
    --scott

    --
    "C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)
  • From Dimensional Traveler@3:633/10 to All on Mon Apr 20 06:55:32 2026
    On 4/19/2026 1:04 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
    Lawrence =?iso-8859-13?q?D=FFOliveiro?= <ldo@nz.invalid> wrote:
    On Fri, 17 Apr 2026 22:51:23 -0500, Lynn McGuire wrote:

    I doubt that Artificial Intelligences must exist only on electronic
    components.

    If you're going to take this to its logical conclusion and construct
    it out of actual organic nerve cells, then is it still 'artificial'?

    That's a matter for the patent office to decide.

    Pretty much by definition if you can patent it, its artificial.

    --
    I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
    dirty old man.

    --- PyGate Linux v1.5.14
    * Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)