Robots and the Law (part 3)

One possible future with robots could see us benefiting and living with these machines in a rather benign fashion. For instance, in the futuristic Solar Echoes game universe, robots are prevalent but have been kept at a certain level of AI. Established law restricts extremely advanced AI in robots, allowing them to serve functional purposes in society while avoiding the threatening implications of robotic sentience. However, in one Solar Echoes mission, service robots at a shopping mall malfunction and begin a dangerous rampage. Without spoiling the story, suffice it to say that hackers are involved with the malfunction, which could be a very real threat in our own future, even if we have laws confining robot AI to certain parameters. Already, people have managed to remotely hack drones right out of the sky and take control of them. Just imagine the risks of having a robot in your own home that could be accessed by a hacker!

Robots and the Law (part 2)

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the use of robots in our lives--I even own two cleaning robots for my home and am thankful I no longer have to vacuum. But robot AI is becoming increasingly more sophisticated, so much so that we might one day see people (and robots themselves) lobbying for robot equal rights. People may even want to marry robots someday! If you think this is preposterous, think again: there are already robots that are being developed to be very realistic female companions. Movies like "Her" and "Ex Machina" address these trends. Regarding AI, people like Elon Musk are extremely concerned about the current unrestricted path the development of artificial intelligence is taking. We need to prepare now, because in ten, maybe twenty years, our society is going to be very, very different. The robots are coming, but will our laws facilitate or restrict their impact on our civilization?

Robots and the Law (part 1)

What role will robots play in the future of our society? As we become increasingly accepting of the presence of robots in our homes and workplaces, what restrictions, if any, will exist to regulate robots in the future? We have seen in just the past ten or twenty years that laws are not keeping up with technology. CD burners, radar detectors, and other pieces of technology emerged long before there were laws governing their use. Currently, we're just beginning to see the implications of private drone ownership, and lawmakers are working to establish proper restrictions. Laws are more likely to form as a reaction to technology instead of preceding it, but robots are steadily being integrated into all aspects of our lives. Will the laws that are sure to come actually be too late?

Stories from Shore Leave Con! (part 5)

There were a lot of unexpected events during a mission where the team was supposed to follow a smuggled shipment of Chiraktis eggs. The eggs, among other foods, were loaded onto a food delivery truck and the characters decided to follow. When the truck broke down (clearly it had been sabotaged), the characters convinced the food delivery crew to allow them to wear their uniforms, and posed as the workers when another truck showed up to continue the delivery. Several of the team hid in the back, while two were in the cab with one of the new drivers—who turned out to be a smuggler. Our alluring, devious Reln (mentioned in these week's posts) held him at gunpoint so he would tell them where the contraband was to be delivered, but he managed to send out a message on his MPC (smartphone.) Two heavily-armored skimcars showed up on either side of the driving truck, with mounted rotary cannons on the front of their vehicles. 

The Reln proved her aptitude with grenades once again by tossing one out the window, right into the cab of a skimcar, blowing it up from the inside and taking out the driver. The second skimcar quickly pulled directly behind the truck it pursued, hoping to use the truck as a shield against the Reln in the front, but suddenly, the back of the truck opened and the rest of the team opened fire. A brave Omul suddenly leapt from the truck, landing right on the skimcar's front windshield with a splat. Another Reln player did the same, and the driver of the skimcar shot through the window at them as they shot back. The Omul was hit and fell off, but the Reln climbed through the opening in the front window and got inside the cab with the driver to finish him off. It was one of the most cinematic battle sequences I've seen—Shore Leave players, thanks for an awesome weekend!

Stories from Shore Leave Con! (part 4)

I was a little surprised that the first group I ran a mission with was entirely lacking grenades, which often seems to be the first thing new players buy for their characters. But, it wasn't long into the day before other new players started to use them, especially after the success a particular female Reln had with them (she was mentioned on Monday, luring a look-out to his doom with her charms.) In one instance, her teammate opened the door to a room in an apartment and was nearly shot dead by the three criminals that were waiting in ambush, aiming at the doorway. He was critically wounded and barely crawled away but the Reln player decided to simply toss a grenade into the room from down the hallway. The grenade injured everyone, and they quickly repositioned to avoid another possible attack. But the devious Reln decided one wasn't enough, and she bounced another grenade into the room right into the very corner the criminals were huddling in. Even though they all dove for cover, the blast center was too close and they took close to full damage from the grenade. Although some of the intel they needed was destroyed, the Reln had effectively eliminated the threat with only 2 grenades--that's definitely one way to clear a room!

Stories from Shore Leave Con! (part 3)

Car chases in Solar Echoes can be full of surprises, and last weekend was no exception. At high speeds the team pursued in two separate vehicles and took on sharp turns, obstacles in the road, and swerved around traffic while shooting vehicle-mounted rotary cannons at their target. He did everything he could to lose them, even dropping magnetic caltrops that attached to the underside of their skimcar with a chance every round to completely deactivate their anti-grav system and send them crashing into the pavement. Just when it looked like the car chase would end with the team capturing their target, he acted in desperation and shot at an innocent civilian's car as he passed. The car spun wildly and the pilot of the team's leading car failed to avoid it, crashing right into it and flipping it up into the air as they spun out of control. Behind them, the trailing team members tried swerving to miss the lead car, but could not avoid the civilian's car that was spiraling through the air directly toward them. The crash was so catastrophic that almost everyone on the team was in the Dying/Unconscious state, and even though one of them managed to stabilize the others, they had to wait for another Union Guard operative to show up to help them before they could continue their mission.

Stories from Shore Leave Con! (part 2)

One of the teams that played this weekend was on a mission to stop malfunctioning, rampaging robots in a shopping mall. In Solar Echoes, if you reach the Dying/Unconscious stage on your bio-status track, you are in serious trouble—it means that unless treated medically, your character will die in a number of rounds equal to his stamina (usually 3 or 4.) When the team's Omul faced a malfunctioning maintenance robot, the robot sprayed him with oil. The slippery oil caused him to lose his footing and made it nearly impossible to stand up again. The robot then proceeded to light him on fire with a welding torch, and the character had only a few rounds left to live. Another team-member, an Erwani, rushed to his defense to try to revive him, but he was also sprayed with oil and was lit on fire by the robot. As both counted down their remaining life, the human on the team (who was a good distance away, dealing with another robot) decided to try sprinting the distance to reach them in time. His sprint would not be far enough, but he dove and landed in the oil, heroically sliding past the robot with only seconds to spare as his outstretched hand successfully injected his team-mate with medical nanites. Thankfully, the others arrived in time to destroy the confused robot before it could “repair” anyone else needing “maintenance.”