VOY:Spirit Folk or "PaddyWorld"

[Dînadan]

The AI thing was a problem I think only TNG handled OK, IMHO. We don't really know if Vic Fontaine was sentient; he was programmed to imitate humans, after all, and many of us are sentient. Maybe algorithms detected that the crew would value his contributions more if they thought he had sentience and made that a factor in his pre-programmed responses. He seemed sapient, but the 1701D mainframe seems to be able to reason somewhat. But was there a there there?

Wasn’t it outright stated that Vic was specifically programmed to be sapient? It’s possible that they only said sentient, but Trek tends to (erroneously) use them interchangeably, so if so, it’s likely they meant sapient.

[CharlesPhipps]

I love how STAR TREK: ONLINE handled it where Starfleet not only liberated all holograms which were sapient but also ones which weren't like the Vulcan Love Slave.

[Riedquat]

I really wish they'd separate the idea of a holographic projection and an actual AI. There's this strange disconnect between what's really an interface and the processing behind it, and looking at that would make for far more interesting stories. There's a lot of science fiction potential with AI but the point largely gets missed these days. Mass Effect was starting to go there with the geth in ME2, but then threw it out for the usual simplifications in 3.

[Dînadan]

I really wish they'd separate the idea of a holographic projection and an actual AI. There's this strange disconnect between what's really an interface and the processing behind it, and looking at that would make for far more interesting stories.

Following on from this, if Data’s mind we’re to be downloaded into a computer, would there be any meaningful difference between that ‘programme’ and that of the Doctor?

[MaxWylde]

This is yet another instance that shows that IQs will drop sharply in the 24th Century. It's as though there is no concept of safety, and, what's more, implies that the Federation is a tyrannical regime.

When the USS Yamato is destroyed by an alien computer virus in the beginning of TNG Contagion, I was waiting for the inevitable consequences of this disaster: There ought to be an uproar, memorials for the victims, and a complete reassessment of Starfleet policies allowing non-essential civilian personnel (families) to reside permanently on warships. But, none of that happened. Wesley's still on the show, and so are all the other kiddies. Indeed, the families aren't even off-loaded from Starfleet ships at the Battle of Wolf 359!!! This proves, without a doubt, that not only is the Federation tyrannical, they're stupid, evil, and completely psychotic. Imagine if the US Navy decided to just go ahead and take the families of sailors and officers with them to the Battle of Midway!!! Let's not leave out Marines; they got wives and kids too, so let's take them to Guadalcanal! The US Army can take their loved ones with them to storm the beaches of Normandy on D-Day! Fun for the whole family!

Here's another point; if you're carrying so much reactive fuel aboard that in the event of a containment failure that whatever remaining fuel destroys your whole ship, that's a major safety problem! In fact, it's a design flaw. Though Contagion does suggest that a containment breach that happened the way it did was improbable, it still happened, and how many times have we heard the words "warp core breach in progress," meaning that the system already knows that there will be a failure in containment, but it does nothing to jettison the fuel in the system in order to prevent an explosion. What a bunch of morons!!! They do not build adequate safety devices and mechanisms into their ships, which might as well be deathtraps, just ticking time bombs waiting to go off at the slightest sign of hostility.

[Robovski]

I really wish they'd separate the idea of a holographic projection and an actual AI. There's this strange disconnect between what's really an interface and the processing behind it, and looking at that would make for far more interesting stories.

Following on from this, if Data’s mind we’re to be downloaded into a computer, would there be any meaningful difference between that ‘programme’ and that of the Doctor?

Data seems to be more than software, but also the hardware he's run on; a lot is made of his positronic brain. I suppose a sufficiently advance computer could emulate the positronic hardware though.

[GandALF]

I really wish they'd separate the idea of a holographic projection and an actual AI. There's this strange disconnect between what's really an interface and the processing behind it, and looking at that would make for far more interesting stories.

Following on from this, if Data’s mind we’re to be downloaded into a computer, would there be any meaningful difference between that ‘programme’ and that of the Doctor?

Data seems to be more than software, but also the hardware he's run on; a lot is made of his positronic brain. I suppose a sufficiently advance computer could emulate the positronic hardware though.

Arguably the holograms' emotional responses (particularly in this episode) would give them an easier chance at passing a Turing test than Data's more robotic mannerisms.

[Rocketboy1313]

Wasn’t it outright stated that Vic was specifically programmed to be sapient? It’s possible that they only said sentient, but Trek tends to (erroneously) use them interchangeably, so if so, it’s likely they meant sapient.

I don't think anyone would see a distinction between those two terms outside of a philosophy term paper.

[Dînadan]

Wasn’t it outright stated that Vic was specifically programmed to be sapient? It’s possible that they only said sentient, but Trek tends to (erroneously) use them interchangeably, so if so, it’s likely they meant sapient.

I don't think anyone would see a distinction between those two terms outside of a philosophy term paper.

Not necessarily; the distinction is useful for what value we place on life. For example a dog is sentient, but not sapient, while a human is both.

Taken from the Oxford University Press dictionary site:

Sentient: able to perceive or feel things
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sentient

Sapient: 1.wise or attempting to appear wise, 1.1.intelligent, 2.relating to the human spiecies
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sapient


It’s a useful distinction because (going back to the dog example), while few, of any of us would wish harm to a dog, even fewer would choose to save the life of a dog over that of a human (any exceptions, eg Hitler, would be because of acts that human has commuted being so heinous and repugnant in the chooser’s opinion to overcome that rather than because the dog’s life is inherently more valuable).

[Darth Wedgius]

Wasn’t it outright stated that Vic was specifically programmed to be sapient? It’s possible that they only said sentient, but Trek tends to (erroneously) use them interchangeably, so if so, it’s likely they meant sapient.

As far as I can tell from the transcript, Vic was just stated to be aware that he's a hologram. That could just be an entry in a database and a tweak to the perception filters.

He is sapient, being able to reason, I think, but we don't know if he's sentient, that is, capable of subjective qualities experiences.

FWiW, I think Data was sentient, as his final "goodbye" in Nemesis was said without anyone else present and the full expectation of imminent death, and every logical reason not to wait to say it before pressing the trigger.