"'If you look at my psychograph, you will see a high goodwill quotient. I'm not going to rob or murder anyone.'"
-Poul Anderson, Virgin Planet (London, 1966), CHAPTER II, p. 17.
First, we note that, centuries after the outlawing of the Psychotechnic Institute in the Solar System, some of its significant scientific discoveries still have practical applications. Secondly, we ask whether this is possible. It sounds too good to be true that a simple psychological profile would scientifically guarantee good motivations in a particular individual. Of course, he must also be competent enough to avoid making damaging mistakes but his expensive private spaceship will help. It is armed, robotic and able to do everything but think.
In the Solar Commonwealth and Commonalty periods of the Technic History, there are spaceships that can think. Anderson covers every possibility, as we have remarked before.
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
We do see mention in the stories set in the Imperial era of the Technic series of sentient grade computers existing, even if no longer as widely used as they had been during the Polesotechnic League. I can imagine AIs being used on Terra in Archopolis and Admiralty Center to help keep the files and archives in order (plus pondering possible correlations and inferences to be drawn from those records).
I think I remember Brechdan Ironrede (in ENSIGN FLANDRY) being rather disdainful of how the Terrans made such great use of computer tech to help run their Empire. He thought hands on, PERSONAL gov't, as much as possible, was better for Merseia.
Ad astra! Sean
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