DJMacdonald wrote:
A non-emancipated PICA is, by legal definition, not sentient, wiping its memory is equivalent to erasing a thumb drive so you can replace the music files on it.
That PICA personality is a copy of an existing personality, after uploading any differences (i.e. the memories of experiences that the PICA was sent to have), the copy is superfluous, and erasing it is not a crime.
evilauthor wrote:Legal definition != reality.
Legal definition != Wrong either. Nor does it equal Moral or Ethical.
evilauthor wrote:Given that we SEE Nimue's perspective when she first wakes up in a PICA shell (twice!) and are privy to her thoughts, we see that she has all the personality, memories, morals, and breadth and depth of emotion that the original Nimue had. So a PICA personality is most definitely sentient even if it doesn't think of itself as a person its own right with its own self identity, whatever the (long dead) courts say.
I don't hold that opinion. A PICA is a marvelous machine no doubt, but it is not sentient, nor does transcribing a recording of a person's memories into it make it so.
This is a philosophical question that is open to debate -- and you and I stand on opposite sides of the question.
evilauthor wrote:It might be different if say, it was mandatory for a PICA to shut down after 10 days and its memories archived to be reviewed/absorbed by the original human template. Then you could at least say it merged back with the original human. But no, a PICA's memories are completely dumped, tossed out, ERASED when the clock runs out and lost forever.
So legislated for the reason that you mentioned further on.
evilauthor wrote:I'd even go so far that if Archbishop Maikel is right and Merlin has his own soul, then the 10 day limit has essentially been killing the PICA's soul when it dumps a its memories.
Ummm, no. If I don't ascribe to the "a PICA is sentient" camp, I certainly don't ascribe to the "a PICA has a soul" camp.
evilauthor wrote:And the most criminal thing about the whole 10 day limit law? It was made out of fear. It wasn't based on some PICA actually going on a killing spree. It was made on the basis of people being afraid they might. You know, like how a certain Grand Inquisitor was afraid a little podunk island nation MIGHT defy Church authority, or how a certain nation MIGHT decide to openly side with that island nation. Or how three quarters of a certain small village MIGHT have conspired to blow up a transport barge full of gunpowder.
Clyntan <sp> has been described as close to a meglomaniac as makes no difference. I certainly wouldn't want a PICA with those kinds of tendancies either.
So, having a legal limit to unsupervised activity (for non-emancipated PICAs) makes sense to me. Why do we put warning labels on microwave ovens to tell people not to dry small animals in them? Because people might.
evilauthor wrote:And no one thinks this is WRONG? Really???
Really. (Assuming you mean erasing PICAs at the expiration of the 10 day limit.)
evilauthor wrote:Edit: And that doesn't even address hyperheuristic mode. Nimue 3.0 spent the better part of several months subjective time catching up with current events, learning appropriate skills, and having conversations with Nahrmahn and Owl. Note that it's been mentioned that several subjective MONTHS in hyperheuristic mode can take place in the span of 15 minutes for the rest of the universe. And the PICA countdown timer is apparently based on objective time.
So if a PICA isn't sentient when it first wakes up, what about at the end of 10 objective days in hyperheuristic mode and subjectively experienced YEARS of activity and interaction with other people in hyperheuristic mode? If a PICA isn't sentient after that, then neither Merlin nor Nimue 3.0 can be considered sentient NOW.
Nope. Hyperheuristic mode makes no difference. And I don't believe either PICA is sentient.
