Post #917310

2026-03-30 22:11 UTC

I&#39;m really starting to get extra appreciation for the voice of the computer in Star Trek. It wasn&#39;t pretending to be anyone&#39;s friend. It doesn&#39;t even try to call itself an &quot;assistant&quot;. Just the facts-- actual facts, as from a calculator. Coolly straightforward, to the point. Pleasantly impersonal. Aloof. Not trying to manipulate anyone with mimicry of emotions it doesn&#39;t feel. None of this cloying encouragement, the pocket sycophant ever so earnestly babytalking to a fragile ego, buttering us up with eager attentiveness, confidence, reassurance, and utterly unselfconscious lies. No humanlike apologies-- even when it&#39;s telling you the self-destruct sequence is still active. Unless you&#39;re in a holosuite and you specifically signed up for THAT kind of simulation, it&#39;s not going to try to lick your balls. SO MUCH LESS CREEPY THAT WAY. https://youtu.be/wnI--FgbLiM #boundaries #&quot;AI&quot; #AI #LLM #StarTrek #LCARS

Replies (7)

@CorvidCrone@kolektiva.social 2026-03-30 22:16

@violetmadder oh yeah, I was just thinking the other day that the Star Trek computer says "data not found" all the time instead of making something up.

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@lambtor@cyberplace.social 2026-03-30 22:25

@violetmadder it never referred to itself as "I"

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@cy@fedicy.us.to 2026-03-30 23:15

...the computer had a voice? Voyager doesn't count.

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@cy@fedicy.us.to 2026-03-30 23:19

AHAHA I FORGOT ABOUT THAT EPISODE YES

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@khleedril@cyberplace.social 2026-03-31 05:11

@violetmadder It's UK-centric, but I wrote about talking computers at https://khleedril.org/blog/2026-03-19--sci-fi-ship-computer.html. There are all kinds in science fiction; best of the lot: Red Dwarf's Holly ;)

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@sabik@rants.au 2026-03-31 09:49

@violetmadder Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented Genuine People Personalities as a cautionary tale. Tech Company: At long last, we have created Genuine People Personalities from classic sci-fi novel Don't Create Genuine People Personalities. #AI #LLM #HHGTTG #HitchHikersGuide #GenuinePeoplePersonalities

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@Technomagik@99finches.com 2026-04-14 18:16

@violetmadder I was enamored by Spock and his adoption of Vulcan ideals of logic. The next generation created an entire language for Klingon, but I never hear what the Vulcan native language would be. Would we get a different result if we trained on a logical language?

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