Re: AI in FT (was Re: Be gentle...)

At 07:50 PM 7/12/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Allan that sorta talk is what leads to Skynet. 

Ah, but Skynet will change the world! :-)

>All kidding aside, I
>love computers, but I kinda like the idea of imaging human pilots dog
>fighting and not computer AI.	

I like the idea too, but my suspension of disbelief cracks at that
point.
Have you played Falcon 3.0? Try playing the drone scenario. If you get
it on
the first pass, it's simple. If you miss it on the first pass, you're
toast
simply because it can pull a 15g turn without batting an eye. 

I have no problems with Star Wars fighter pilot combat, but then Star
Wars
is fantasy, not SciFi. I just haven't found a good enough reason for
putting
actual humans in a fighter cockpit, especially after the way they get
shredded in FT. How do those navies actually get pilots stupid enough to
replace the first ones. I mean, a 60% to 100% casualty rate is fairly
common.

>If you like the idea of AI combat units check out the Bolo series by
>Kieth Laumer and others.

I've read some of the Bolo short stories, but not any of the novels. I
think
Iain Banks is the way to go, though. Huge, kilometres long starships
controlled by an AI Mind while humans live a life of splendor in their
own
utopias. That's the way to fight a war!

Allan Goodall:	agoodall@sympatico.ca 
"You'll want to hear about my new obsession.
 I'm riding high upon a deep depression. 
 I'm only happy when it rains."    - Garbage