Ceasefire and Summary (was FT Background)

It looks like the autonomous fighter debate (which, funny enough, was
only a side comment on Jon's background) has ground to a halt. It was
quite interesting and very informative.

For the record, I still believe that we'll see an autonomous
atmospheric fighter plane before the middle of the next century and
that manned fighters in space will be impossible. I haven't been
convinced with the pro-human side of the argument (albeit the
majority). I still think that the ability to sustain high Gs, faster
reaction time, and less mass will win out.

I also doubt very much if my own pro-machine arguments have swayed
anyone. And, to be honest, I'm actually quite happy with this. You
see, I've often wanted to write stories with humans piloting fighters
(since stories about people are the most interesting of all), but in
the back of my mind I've had this gnawing sense that it was all rather
impossible and that most readers simply wouldn't buy the concept. It
was actually rather heartening to see people come to the defence of
humanity so readily.

So, in closing, I will assume that humans (and aliens; let's say
"biologicals") have an inherent advantage over machines until such
time as Jon's universe invents AIs (if ever). If an explanation is
needed, what was mentioned on this group about humans being
innovative, creative, and unpredictable will suffice. I STILL debate
the bit about humans being unpredictable, but then you probably knew
I'd say that.  :-)

Allan Goodall	     agoodall@sympatico.ca

"Once again, the half time score, 
 Alien Overlords: 142,000. Scotland: zip."
  - This Hour Has 22 Minutes