Exposition For Children

I want a t-shirt now that says "I am an important lesson."

Melissa Smits

There's also the fact that in a much earlier strip, when the singularity hit, humans chose the path of altruism and it shaped the relationship with AIs from a position of progress. So that seems to follow the "first do no harm" rule, and Jeph has alluded to Asimov as an important influence

Melissa Smits

As far as animals go, humans have an uncanny way of adapting, even with things like cobras, tigers, venomous snakes and spiders, and Republicans. So currently in much of society we can rely on altruism (and when that doesn't work, horrific punishment in the form of jails and executions). So I have to think that in order to incentivize good behaviour for AIs, Robot Jail has got to be super, super bad. Whether or not it's run by humans makes this even more interesting.

Melissa Smits

Robots being cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn3KWM1kuAw&feature=emb_logo

Paracog Steadham

"I'm not sure I like you hanging out with all those punk robots." "one of them said you were cool." "I was wrong!"

Bagge

Hmm yes... but there are subject that can’t be rehabilitated... there must be a serious thought on how and why things happen.

Milo

The distinction between jail and prison doesn't really make sense to a large extent. - AIs sent to jail are separated from their bodies or servers, so there's no possibility of escape, and apart from the warehouse(s?) where the bodies are stored, the overall space required is tiny. - The environment that each AI CPU is subjected to can easily be tailored to whether they are pre or post conviction.

Some Ed

Love is a bit inaccurate is more like the humans at the top of the hierarchy and the most inside push that system on the rest of humanity

The Neo-Human

It's absolutely terrifying, and that tension between their humanity and their ability to rapidly outpace us makes for really fuckin' interesting narrative, hence people constantly hitting that super rich well up for ideas. It's a fascinating lens to explore ethics through.

Hajnal Endot

"oh, punishment! we like punishment!" is a weirdly elegant way of framing humanity's love for hierarchy and othering

Hajnal Endot

really curious about the details of robot jail. is there robot prison?

runrin

I love how someone here complained about "floating eyebrows" and Jeph doubled down on them ❤️

Fabio Neves

It would have been very educational, not sure for whom though.

Mike Klingbiel

IT'S A FIGHTER JET. THEY'RE NOT MEANT TO BE SAFE.

Captain Button

jail real bad

Mike Klingbiel

I am sure she would have been a cool fighter jet. Safe, not so much.

dcy665 .

When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One, by David Gerrold is good, too.

Brian Mann

If you're interested in a very different narrative of AI/human relations, read "The Stories of Ibis" by Hiroshi Yamamoto. It had an English release about a decade ago, so should be findable used at a reasonable price. Without spoiling too much, lets just say that most of the issues between us and AI may be our responsibility. "Robopocalypse" by Daniel H. Wilson presents some similar ideas in a different setting.

William Borden

No customers in employee chat. I LIKE that one. :)

Joseph Bonnar

No. In-sin-eration is having sex in your car. (Alone or with others - I'm not judging.)

BobC

I’m sure there are lots of irritating arguments against AIs, like “They don’t have souls” and “they’ll take our jaerbs”, “Humans First!”. Lots of focus on how they are other, unknown, and thus fearful. As immortal, fast learning machines, there’s always an outside chance one or a few could become a bioterrorist and 3D print a mega pandemic virus. Tell me it’s never at least crossed Corpse Witch’s cynical mind. Often horror premises are “what if something that wasn’t human acted as cruelly and viscously as humans act to each other?” If Yay dedicated all their resources to wiping out humanity in a surprise attack, how would that go?

Shane Wegner

Wouldn't in-car-ceration be burning garbage in your car?

Carl Fink

Ouch.

Ursus Ridens

Hmm....do AI's view speech as a type of aural public chat/ forum?

Robert Wrigley

And the horrific way we run our prisons force people into gangs for self-protection. The thirst for punishment breeds more crime.

Bruce Steinberg

During COVID I've been doing much more in-car-ceration. That's a synonym for getting food at a drive-through, right?

BobC

I think there's also a second issue that our prisons are so far from being the correction system that we were sold on that it feels like we'd need a revolutionary approach, and most people just won't be open to such a thing.

Some Ed

Well, that was...surprisingly tactful.

Daniel S

Rehabilitation, not incarceration!

Kuragari

May is Sam's assistant. Didn't ya see 4423? She reported for duty and everything. Even got a promotion on her first gig!

these were drawn last year. Jeph showed us the timelapses.

LH

i think it's more "May being accidentally good with Sam specifically" but yes great storyline

LH

The main problem with prison reform is that prison, like most punishments, is there because people want to see criminals suffer. And when that's your priority, you'll be less inclined to ask if it actually helps decrease crime.

Rob McBobson

May is an employee?

Captain Button

Haven't updated the copyright date yet eh?

at0m

Steal a bunch of money in an attempt to become a fighter jet

tbodt

Was it ever said what May did to go to jail???

Marty BlackEagle

Not all jail is bad. But there is FAR TOO MUCH jail. And not-enough/too-much punishment. Too many "criminals" spending years behind bars for petty crimes that prevent them from being rehabilitate and ensure they will contribute to be criminal when they're eventually released, and too many Hard Core Criminals being off with a slap on the wrist or "life sentences" where we pay for them to live in prison for half a century or more instead of taking them out behind the courthouse and shooting them once they've been convicted beyond a shadow of a doubt of rape, pedophilia or cold blooded murder...

Mark Thomas

All I can contribute is: I wish I could've been cool enough in high school to wear a vest like Sam's.

May being accidentally good with kids is such a great storyline.

schmod

Rehabilitation is better for society than punishment.

Adam with two As, a D, and an M

Lawmakers: "Other people getting punished makes us feel good!" ... "What do you mean, I need to be punished for my own criminal acts? What are you, high?!" ... "You need to be punished for that."

Dracon Atrox

Because AI jail is less a jail than it is a massive server farm with some *really* fucked up coding to make it seriously suck. May didn't start off with a body after all, she was just stuck in the virtual evil sim of AI Prison.

I'm just digging the abolitionist talk around here

Rachel Maeroff

All jail bad. There's so few people I'd actually feel justified putting there. And punishment always feels like its for everyone but the one being punished...

Edward Clayton Andrews

That's actually rather well-expressed exposition.

R L

AI are used to subnet private chats Lololol

doorbender

So wait, why do _humans_ need their own special jail?

Yonatan Zunger

One we saw last week. And overall, I do like the interplay between May and Sam.

Michael Boettger

So cool.

Marshall Gates