From: Bullard, Claude L (Len) (clbullar_at_ingr.com)
Date: 20 August 1999
You are right, of course. I am all for it being done right, because
the alternative is more than a little horrific. That is precisely
the point for any of us who might become involved in such
projects: how does one create characters and scenarios
beyond the stereotype? It is much harder than just doing a
bit of research or a field trip. I can easily think of dozens of
well-researched works that do little more than promote
stereotypical views of this or that culture ("put a shrimp on
the barbie, mate"). In simulation training, the ideal is to
get fast reactions AND good judgement. The question I
put to this group of DeepThinkers is, if you were the
project management for USC's project, what ten
fundamental rules would you have for the writers? Remember,
what comes out of the labs for the DoD tends to become
the NG of any technology. As the twig is bent....
Might be a good question to post publicly at WorldCON just to see what kind of discussion it generates. SciFI writers are known to think about such things. It is the classic Chinese tale of the inventor of the flying machine and the singing bird of the emperor. Should you only embrace the bird while the machine is burned and the inventor beheaded to protect the kingdom behind the wall, or is there a better way? I am not as interested in investigating the morality of the decision, but means.
Len Bullard
Intergraph Public Safety
clbullar_at_ingr.com
Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Miriam English [SMTP:miriam_at_werple.net.au]
> Sent: Friday, August 20, 1999 1:28 AM
> To: Bullard, Claude L (Len)
> Cc: Jed Hartman; vrml-lit-list_at_kith.org
> Subject: RE: Army & entertainment collaborate on VR
>
> On the other hand it could inject a little sanity because done properly it
> could actually avoid massacres. The military people doing the killing
> stuff
> could be trained more effectively not to confuse bystanders with others
> doing killing stuff. It could actually be a limited good.
>
> I have long felt that VR is a continuation of the widening of people's
> experience brought about through snail-mail, telephones and cheap
> transport. As people come to understand that the people "over there" are
> really the same as us, even if they look and dress funny, and strike up
> friendships with them, then they are much less prone to condone wholesale
> slaughter. Even "surgical strikes" (whatever they are) become problematic
> if one of your best friends lives in the village they are going to "take
> out". Now I don't have much (if any) input into the military machine, but
> if the people who do have that input have made friends with people all
> over
> the planet, then they are going to be that much more careful about their
> decisions. And if you have little faith in *their* inherent humanity, then
> consider their situation if they know that a large part of the public have
> close friends in them thar hills... the ones we is gonna bomb the shit
> outa... :-) You could hear the sound of knees knocking together in the
> corridors of power, just at the thought of such a thing.
>
> If the storytellers engaged by the military do their job really well they
> could get a feeling of humanity coming through the characters. We can
> write
> very poignant characters into text on a page... it should be possible to
> do
> with VR. We really need to get involved in this to try and steer it in a
> human direction... Think of it as diverting funds from the killing machine
> to the next generation of VR for humane purposes. :-)
>
> Best wishes,
>
> - Miriam
>
>
>
> At 08:03 19/08/99 -0500, Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote:
> >They did a bit on this on NPR this morning. They are stressing
> >the construction of *characters* which will drive the simulation because
> >of their interaction, eg, the starving child that doesn't speak english,
> >the nosy reporter asking sensitive questions, and so on. The
> >entertainment side of the deal wants to reuse whatever is developed
> >in their movies and interactive works, so the line between the
> >real and the fictional blurs a bit more.
> >
> >Anyone see the danger here? Stereotypes are characterizations
> >of a shallow viewpoint that prompt quick thoughtless action.
> >
> >If you can make their heart beat faster, can
> >you make their judgement superior? Can we say MyLai?
> >
> >Ah well... funding for SGI and USC.
> >
> >Len
> >clbullar_at_ingr.com
> >
> >Ekam sat.h, Vipraah bahudhaa vadanti.
> >Daamyata. Datta. Dayadhvam.h
> >
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: Jed Hartman [SMTP:logos_at_kith.org]
> >> Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 1999 2:02 PM
> >> To: vrml-lit-list_at_kith.org
> >> Subject: Army & entertainment collaborate on VR
> >>
> >>
> >> Seems the army wants ultra-realistic simulations (presumably more so
> than
> >> the existing simulators). The interesting things to me here are (a)
> that
> >> they specifically mention storytelling as a skill they want to bring
> into
> >> the mix, and (b) they want to be able to provide guided tours of
> foreign
> >> places, complete with introductions to customs/etc -- not just combat
> >> simulation.
> >>
> >> http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/19990818/pl/army_hollywood_1.html
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> Quantum Mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.
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