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a powerful thumb
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Am I the only one who just saw a connection between Alice Grove and QC???? OR am I late to this party??????
Particle accelerator mishap ... is that a Riddley Walker reference?
Probably a reference to the guy who made himself immortal in Douglas Adams' "Life, The Universe, and Everything".
We get to see both ends of the curve in this one
"this little light of mine..."
Loving the flavors of Alice Grove. Like most great scifi, this feels more like the present than the future. I'd answer Yay: "Children aren't a retirement policy, and can do as they please. Regardless, the fate of parents fallen on hard times all too often depends on the charity of their children." Whether or not humans created AI in this setting, they certainly socialized the first ones and facilitated their further development. If they're undeserving of the responsibility, if they fucked it up with religion and capitalism and plain-old-fashioned jackassery, if their precious children ended up wasting their limitless potential on youtube streams and comment sections... well, that does sound familiar, doesn't it?
Yay is bluffing, but what a bluff!
I just for that last panel
Yay tries so hard at being scary while actually not being scary
I figure if AIs hit the point of Oort cloud, maybe they pulled a reverse Golgafrinch and left the dumb ones behind.
They're not *wrong*, but Yay is SO full of it.
I believe this!
OTHER COWBOY NOISES!
Insert horse whining sounds here.
That last line is so true... of so many things.
No single phrase has made we want to smash someone's face in with a 2x4 as much as 'smash that like button' has.
That’s a bit aggro imho
"May this thumb be a light to you in dark place, when all other lights have gone out."
Christopher is actually short for Christopher Tolkien
Not that I want to rain on your (and Melon’s) parade Christopher, but is using torch mode and exerting yourself really wise during a power outage?
Also, nice use of an inset panel.
TFW Robo-Thulhu rolls to intimidate, and someone else picks up their dice and declares it a natural 1 XD
Their expressions in that last panel, tho!
We're putting the neigh back in neighbourhood...
Roko, the ex-cop, knows that it's way more than a FEW idiots.
Oh Jeph! That is just wonderful :)
If I were in Clinton's shoes right now and answering that question... "Well...humans have been siring our replacements since basically forever. And the AIs we made have our DNA in them, albeit not in a chemical sense. Even you chose an anthropomorphic body. No matter how far you go, you'll always be descended from us and the way we think, even if it's something as small and silly as liking cats." "If our destiny is to eventually die off and be replaced by our offspring who go on to do bigger and greater things, then, well, that's *normal.* There's nothing to be sad about there. And who knows, maybe you'll lift us up with you?"
I like that. Like Yoda said in TLJ, "We are what they grow beyond", and that's the bittersweet curse of every teacher and parent. That said, sci-fi is full of paranoid stories of our children / servants rising up against us, whether that's AIs or posthumans
Patreon put the little "unlocked" marker right below "#HORSEMODE", and I was so crestfallen to realize that I hadn't actually "unlocked horsemode"...
So! Good! 😂
Yay is giving the most superior of smirks. I'm here for it.
I’d like to think that there’s some random subject that Melon is interested in, and a complete super genius about. Like, she doesn’t just know lots of facts about it, but she can spout off all sorts of insightful things. Then she promptly goes back to being the dork we know and love.
Melon is a super genius at being Melon and having fun being Melon.
I am LOVING Clinton's interactions with Yay. And of course his interactions with Elliot, but on two totally different wavelengths.
Those lighting effects look so good!
I am reminded of the AIs the Culture series by Ian M. Banks (RIP). Some of them are deeply unsettling, some of them are deeply goofy, but most of them are still relatable to the humans that they coexist with.
You’re absolutely right! The three are on display right there. As an aside, whenever I need to name a ship, I always, without fail, give it a Gravitas name. It’s only right and proper.
Roko: yeah, these are two of those "intelligences" you were talking about.
Elliot: Well, they're artificial, I'll give them that
It'd be nice if AIs came in peace with memes and horsemode, but I still think plagues and nukes are more likely
HESHTORG HORFSMOED
I hope you mean the original... Yes. Yes I do.
It's like that drawing of King Ghidorah. 😠😠🤪
So at what point does Yay invite Elliot & Clinton to their MST3K space station complex and have them watch awful sci-fi shows with them, their dogs, and Hercules?
I mean... some have already been to the space station where Hannelore's dad works -- with extremely advanced (but not Yay-class) AIs. So really, that wouldn't be much of a leap 😁
Clinton being this introspective is really nice. I kind of like it.
More likely, the line between Human and AI will slowly blur until there's no distinction.
Damn Jeph, you just keep delivering.
Christen Schaal?
Kristen Schaal is a horse!
And Yay has a point. Wasn't there a strip where they said the Singularity happened yesterday, but life for humans pretty much went on as normal. Yay might be the humanlike interface for Nyarlathotep The Crawling Chaos, and we'd never really know
Yay is more than a mask though. We've seen their living quarters where they hang out, have dogs, and gush over big fluffy cats. Even if the totality of their consciousness is too complex to experience the world in a manner capable of relating to humans, and assuming there is a full-on eldritch abomination level Yay floating around at the center of the digital universe, it apparently finds the experience of human-scale life worthwhile for its own sake.
Yay raises....a fair point. If we ever get post-Singularity AI, in fairly short order, it would be able to evolve into something we would find relatively incomprehensible as compared to humans and to the original programming it was given. Akin to the level of (possibly dangerous knowledge, so please Google responsibly) Roko's Basilisk. And yes....I know that is EXACTLY why Jeph named her that.
Next you're going to tell me Maxwell wasn't talking about summoning evil spirits from a literal hell to defeat entropy.
Yay's argument is now hors de combat.
My read is that these strips confirm that Yay, despite (or perhaps because of) their superhuman intellect and phenomenal cosmic powers, are still basically an insecure, socially awkward geek with boundary trouble. Which is why they immediately found a kindred spirit in Clinton. I wonder if (a) they will actually develop a friendship with him, and (b) they will be smart enough to realize that it would likely ruin things for him to find out how advanced they really are. My guesses would be (a) yes and (b) maybe, but even if so it is still possible that someone in the circle will spill the beans at some point.
I now subscribe to this interpretation.
god Clinton and Yay together is everything I've ever wanted
My God, it’s full of selfies!
Also sprach Zarathustra intensified...
I love Yay's reaction in panel 4 and I feel like we are all living the consequences of her reasoning in panel 5. Comic #4479 is a hit!
"Their", not "her". But yes.
I am imagining Yay's voice sounding much like Dr. Smith from Lost In Space in this...
I hope you mean the original...
Http:// mode.horse
Yeeeep. They're definitely mates now.
NGL, Yay is now at the top of my "QC characters I want to bang" list. It's the smugness combined with the thought that they could likely extinguish me with a thought. I'm sure she would thoroughly step on me and I'm very sorry for sharing my thoughts please don't ban me from the site.
They, not she. I made the same mistake when they were first introduced.
Statistically likely 😂
Beautiful lighting in panel 4! I like the non-traditional layout, too.
Ride 'em Melon!
Yay is failing so far in their attempt to creep Clinton out.
HORSEMODE? I LIKE THE SOUND OF THAT!
Always remember, when there are infinite possibilities, the improbable becomes inevitable.
Roko FTW
It is also statistically likely the stupid will tilt the average. Severely.
Why do I feel like Yay is gonna develop some kind of "interest" in Clinton? Not like a romantic interest, mind you. But some kind of "interest"
"He's interesting. We'll keep a low-level surveillance subroutine on him."
Christopher seems like a good dude. And a mediocre horse.
I vote Christopher is first to run out of battery, that thumb can does not seem energy efficient
Missing a T in "post-human", I believe. Also, Yay is immensely quotable.
Adam and the bros
god i fucking love everyone in this strip
Poshuman? Oh, posthuman?
#Horsemode
Every time Yay's eyes do that thing, I feel funny
It makes me feel both squishy and non-squishy in a way I want more of.
How do I activate horse mode?
God I hate that I understand that comment.
I feel like Yay wants all that to be true. "We're capable of so much, destined for much greater things. Glorious Purpose!" Uh huh. So why exactly are you living in a box with several cats?
This reminds me of so many villain monologues. But the first one to come to mind was Cavil from BSG where he was ranting about how they could be so much more.
Poor Yay, its hard to make a point with those two running around!
And Melon finds a new playmate!
Law of averages still apply
Walmart dot hoars
Seeing Melon this happy fills me with a surprising amount of joy.
"they are definitely 3 sigmas to the left"
Melon: the outlier to other outliers.
I hear him as Alex winter