I'm wondering about the almost absence of Robot/Androides in the game

[coca_fr]

In our current world we are developping Robots, IA... and we see almost none in Elite Dangerous environment at the exception at a few planetary base. That's really strange from a future that is supposed to be 1,200 years later.

I would like to have more of them in outpost where everything is automated. We could also see space robots outside stations repairing them.

I proposed the idea to be able to recruit Androids as crew member for a substantial price.

Some systems could decide to banish Robots/Androides as they are creating unemployement. You could then be considered having illegal cargo if you have droide crew member, so there is some interesting drawback having a droide crew member.

We really needs more Robots/Androides in the game to make it more futuristic.

 

[Achibot]

AI is outlawed across humanity (Empire, Federation, Alliance) in the Elite universe because of a fear of the runaway AI problem.

 

[Apos]

Adaptable AI is banned in ED's lore and regulated to a bare minimum across human space.

Supposedly there's also remnants of hyper intelligent AI having been lost in space and hinted as a potential "threat" for the future.

 

[Wasp0]

not so sure about lack of robots in this game, you wanna see my latest NPC pilot. She is NOT a looker, but she can't half handle my Gunship!

 

[Crash1099]

Adaptable AI is banned in ED's lore and regulated to a bare minimum across human space.

Supposedly there's also remnants of hyper intelligent AI having been lost in space and hinted as a potential "threat" for the future.

Really? I need to go out and find it.

 

[bubbabenali]

The most advanced alloys and ships in the Elite Dangerous Galaxy are 500 years old.
And you hoped for Androids?
My theory is that there was a period of Idiocracy in the history of mankind - we should be happy humans have not lost the ability to speak... or breath.

 

[coca_fr]

I'm reading this interesting thread i found this quote

BTW, in game lore doesn't prohibit automation. It prohibits sentient machines. These are very different things and the lack of total automation in game is pure design choice, without attributing it to the lore in any way.

I still think we should see more automated robots and be able to recruits NPC Robots in some technological independant world (even if banned in most systems).

Even if very advanced AI is prohibited, how can you really prevent people from develop them anyway ?!

In addition how the humanity would expand to the universe without a large quantity of cheap workers... With slaves instead of automated robots ?! What a progress !

The most advanced alloys and ships in the Elite Dangerous Galaxy are 500 years old.
And you hoped for Androids?

You are right.

It took mankind over 2.000 years from the first "sci fi" fables of old greece describing human flight (Ikarus) to actually taking off.
Real AI has it's "breaktrough in the next 2-3 years" for 50 years now .. maybe another 2000 until we can really develop sentient machines.

From Executive Producer Michael Brookes

It's not AI that's banned, but machine sentience. You can still have smart computers, but they're not allowed to be self-aware.

Michael

So i guess Robot NPC Crew member may be coming to ED when they have time to develop them.

 

[Jack Schitt]

So i guess Robot NPC Crew member may be coming to ED when they have time to develop them.

They've had four years since they first came up with the idea for mechanical crew. I won't be holding my breath.

 

[Dan Dare]

If there was a good AI in the game then us Cmdrs would not need to sit for hours in our cockpits shlepping bio waste etc.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

There are android ads in stations afaik.

 

[DaveC]

If there was a good AI in the game then us Cmdrs would not need to sit for hours in our cockpits shlepping bio waste etc.

Yeah you would.
The AI would refuse to do it

 

[Polygonal Spaceship]

If you think artificially intelligent (android or computer) crew are a good idea, clearly you've not yet had a beer with CMDRs David Bowman and Frank Poole...

 

[Fendalton]

You can find AI canisters in the game but they're illegal.

Not sure if the advertisements are android advertisements or fashion ones.

Maybe they banned automation due to population and a growing unemployed sector, costing too much for Governments to maintain?

 

[Arthur Shappey]

Sorry - I thought all the NPCs were androids - are you saying they're meant to be human?

 

[lysan]

Go look up the DDF it was suppose to be in the game, it was also described in the after kick starter design manual.

 

[Gamatech]

I do see adverts outside of stations sometimes for androids, or at least companies who have made them.

 

[leeG]

I’m surprised we don’t see any robot ships. Bulk haulers and mail/data delivery vessels plying scheduled routes connecting the systems and stations and bases to each other. Easy pickings for pirates. Which justifies high payouts for data delivery missions since you need a commander piloted vessel to ensure the critical stuff gets delivered.

 

[Conch]

ive got an AI relic in my hold from time to time, from doing USS.. they are highly illigal.

 

[Hadarmil]

No AI(actual working ones), but there are cyborgs. Jaques is a 200yo one, also Zacariah Nemo is hiding in his base with his other cyber-augmented friends since apparently regular people don't like them. There is some bizarre anti synthetic thing going on in the Elite-a-verse.

 

[Rafe Zetter]

They've had four years since they first came up with the idea for mechanical crew. I won't be holding my breath.

I consider the DDF a total Ponzi scheme, a con job designed to make backers pony up more money so that they can feel engaged and part of the developmental process while FDev in reality had and still have seemingly no intent on implementing most of it, as going by current evidence - or glaring lack thereof, and basically used the DDF backers as a focus group for the ideas FDev were already considering because they couldn't afford the staff to do it internally.

Games companies standard practise of using alpha and beta backers as unpaid... lol not just unpaid, but PAYING for the privilege.... of free playtesters is bad enough, but I can understand the logic - more testers = more bugs found.

But to dupe a set of backers into paying to be "part of the dev process" to help you flesh out ideas existing while almost completely ignoring the original ideas that came from DDF backers is frankly the kind of underhanded practises I'd expect from a company coming from China or N Korea.

As I've been talking about it more often recently, I've been going through some of the DDF archives during that time and honestly I think FDev just threw whatever crazy idea of the day into the DDF and watch them lap it up while walking away saying "that should keep them fed for a while...."

Instead of feeding the trolls I think it was a troll feeding the norms.

How many of the ideas suggested exclusively by DDF backers have made it into the game? I've not found one yet.