Star Trek Geek Conversation: A Race of Data's?

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We have seen repeatedly were AI lifeforms tend to run of the rails and if millions of them get created that are stronger, faster, feel no pain or remorse natural life will get snuffed eventually.

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In science fiction. In reality I think at some point man and machine will have to merge. 500 years from now are we really going to be stuck with a Siri level interface to computers like in Star Trek? I would hope that 500 years from now we're all cyberjacked into the internet.

The tricky component will be what the Borg represented, being part of a collective hive mind vs. being an individual. You could probably do both and switch hives freely. Imagine joining a hive mind for your job and your actions being controlled by someone else who could get more out of you. Or joining a personal hive as you're relaxing at home with friends, watching the same TV show and literally sharing thoughts about it.

Watch the Orville...they covered this. There is an entire race/planet of artificial beings.

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Watch the Orville

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We ever going to get a new season of that? Feels like Season 2 ended 5 years ago.

I think the 3 1990's shows answered your question in couple of ways:

1. The most developed AI characters (Data, Lor, EMH Doctor, Vic Fontaine, etc) are all aware that their thoughts and personalities are the results of programming. Data spends years toying with his programming in an attempt to add or change his personality.

So, if that type of self-awareness can be considered a given, then it would be difficult for a cohesive, self-sustaining group to develop.

2. The 2 Data episodes you mentioned show that the Federation was understandably wary of autonomous AI's.

3. DS9 (which I just finished after so many of yall raved about it) dealt explicitly w/ the concept of created races. In Rick Berman's ST universe, at least, it is suggested that a created/re-engineered race cannot be truly free or independent of the creators or masters. They are slaves at best, and that is not a good thing in this universe.

CLIFF'S NOTES: I think the Federation would consider it both dangerous and unethical.

The weirdest episode, IMO, was when Dr Moriarty achieved self-awareness and escaped the Holodeck. No matter how many times I've seen that episode, I don't really get how he did that. The only other hologram who could operate outside of his cage was Doctor Picardo after Ed Begley Jr engineered some advanced alien technology that the Enterprise didn't have.

Data almost kills the ship about once every season. If he was to snap, no one would have been able to stop him. He would have everything in full lockdown in a matter of Milliseconds.

I know he has his advantages, but the risk would greatly outdo the reward for an entire planet or even colony of Data's.

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You are correct. That episode was just on. What gets me about that episode is that they keep the program running in some portable holodeck. I would have just said "end program."

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I know this episode very well. This was the second time we saw Professor Moriarty. The last time they just "ended program" it was discovered in this conclusion to the storyline that the Professor experienced the passage of time although the program was turned off. That created a moral dilemma for Picard. Another component is the potential for Moriarty to caused mischief in the "turned of" state. Getting him purged from the computer was needed and giving him a quality of life in his own holodeck was important to Picard as he saw him as sentient life and didn't want to destroy it....I think I would have deleted the program...