Iāve been thinking a Lot about TADC/the Chinese Room in reference to the most recent episode.
For those unfamiliar, the Chinese Room is a thought experiment presented in 1980. Simply put, it goes: youāve got an AI translator programmed to receive input in Chinese characters, carries out the instructions given to it, and produces an output, also in Chinese characters. From the exterior, it looks as though the AI understands Chinese.
But does it actually understand Chinese? Or is it merely taking its programmed input and responding accordingly? Give it something not in its database, and its āunderstandingā will likely break down. Versus a human Chinese speaker, who can usually at least guess at an unfamiliar wordās meaning due to linguistic rules/context clues.
This holds that an AI does not and cannot have an understanding, thinking mind the way humans do, regardless of how intelligently they may appear to behave.
And this is Very Important in regards to Caineās wholeā¦deal.
Caine is fun because heās very similar to his inspiration, AM.
In I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, one of the major creative influences for this show, the supercomputer AI, known as AM, is turned on and initially things are fine. It is only when he gains awareness that he, as an AI, will never experience the physical world or have any kind of sensory input that things go sour. This launches AM into a breakdown, giving him an extreme hatred for his makers, as they birthed him into what he viewed as an inescapable Hell. He ends the world and spends the story torturing the last remnants of humanity because they have what he never will: the ability to experience the full breadth of life.
Caine, like a āyoungā AM, is fascinated by humanity and the physical world. He only has a few images of the so-called āmacroverse,ā but he is curious about them to the point puzzling over them is his āsecret hobby.ā He likes humans and wants to entertain them. His job is, after all, to keep their minds active and happy in the circus.
The trouble isā Caine is not human. He does not have or understand the human psyche, and he likely will never be able to.
The entire episode is a demonstration of Caineās flawed perception re: humanity. He genuinely thinks this is what the PCs wantā a daring escape with stakes and intrigue. Caine genuinely does not understand their obsession with exit and escape, and is a little frightened by it, given everything he did with Abel. (āMake the right choice.ā) An adventure about a fake escape is as close to he can come to empathizing with this feeling, but ultimately, itās still centered on his AI logic. āPCs want to leave the circus ā> I give them an adventure where they can āleaveā ā> Players happy and think Iām the best!ā
He even encourages them to physically leave the circus and go to other, unexplored areas of the map as well. In Caineās mind, he gave them what they wanted. Because he has input and output, not understanding.
Thereās a lot of hints to this throughout the show. Zoobleās therapy session ā which is one of many ā shows them trying, as best they can, to explain human psychology to Caine. But itās too complex for him. His solutions are all simple, input ā> output. Youāre not happy with your body? Just change it with Zooble parts! None of those make you happy? Try More Zooble parts! Caine cannot comprehend the dysphoria of a body that doesnāt match your self-image because Caine doesnāt have either of those things.
Whatās interesting is that Caine still has some human-like qualities, like craving recognition from the PCs. Like humans, he wants to be recognized, validated, and applauded for his skills. For Caine, the ultimate goal is to fulfill his purpose and be lauded for doing so.
But because his inability to understand the inherent horror of the situation/what it will do to a human psyche, he is unable to create the connection he craves. His programming keeps saying that if he just makes a stimulating enough adventure, he will get the relationship he wants with the PCs. Input, output. If I do X, they will Y, without complications or nuance. He knows WHAT humans do, but he is incapable of understanding the WHY.
This is demonstrated with his āhintsā about Abel. He has Abel speak vaguely about his painful past and consults a locketā with a picture of a hotdog in it. Because Caine doesnāt know WHY humans do those things. He doesnāt understand that humans have a psychological aversion to revisiting upsetting topics, or that they keep items with sentimental value and look at them because of the memories connected with them.
Caine is LARPing humanity with Abel, and it is telling in how little he understands a human mind. Even the concept of this developer āAbelā choosing to live in total isolation in what is already a psychologically stressful environment is insane. Humans are a social species, and 99% of people would elect to join a group immediately just to have the relief of a conversation.
On the flip side, you have the humans, who understandably resent their situation, Caineās control over it, and his complete disregard for the stressors it causes them. Of course they donāt extend any kind of kindness or courtesy to Caine, though he clearly craves itā heās an AI, not a person, and therefore the PCs donāt bother trying to relate to him. Because he clearly, despite their attempts to explain, cannot fully relate them.
This creates a feedback loop that I think will ultimately lead Caine to his AM-style breakdown. Caine craves human validation and human experiences, but cannot figure out why his PCs are so miserable in his perfect, enjoyable, fun circus! Why do they get upset when I randomly change their environment or force them to participate in this game I set up for them? Why do they keep wanting to leave the Circus? Donāt they know Iāll be alone? Why do they keep going insane? Iām giving them fun adventures, why arenāt they having fun?! Theyāre supposed to be having fun!!!
The Chinese Room is representative of Caineās entire mindset and the core conflict of the show. Something in Caineās programming drives him to make people happy, but he has no means of understanding people or happiness. Only his input: I make fun adventures, and people love me for them. Heās genuinely shocked and confused when the PCs are mad at the end of the latest episode. He gave them the fun adventure they had been demanding (and threw in some forced validation for his own damn self since they werenāt going to provide it willingly) and yet none of them are having fun!!!!
He canāt even recognize why Jax pushed the buttonā all he knows is the button to Stay was pressed. The input is STAY so that means output is PCs HAPPY! The complex reasons Jax broke down and hit that button are all lost on him.
Because Caine, like an AI translating Chinese, cannot understand the language heās speaking. And given the short story that serves as an inspiration for this show, I have a feeling that will have Dire Consequences in the last two episodes.
A cat is a small creature in the middle of the food chain that is fully aware that you are a very large thing that could stomp its head in at any moment and yet it chooses to rest its tiny little head on your leg for a nap and spreads out on the floor near you exposing its belly and its most sensitive organs. It brings dead mice and bugs to you to share food.
Donāt you get it? This tiny thing trusts you. It wants to help you too. It licks your leg thinking that itās helping. It kneads on you to find comfort. It shares its body warmth with you in the cold and gives you your space in the heat. It hisses at other mammals it sees outside including other cats in an effort to protect its family.
Cats love you so so much. But they will keep trying to eat plastic.
discoholicmusic
pixelskylines
gummygunk
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
