Fuzzy logic.

[The Rock]

I was just thinking about how fuzzy logic could fit into Star Trek, from the very beginning with The Original Series all the way up to the newest shows like Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Picard. It got me wondering how this kind of thinking could change the way the tech and characters work across the whole franchise.

If you haven’t heard of fuzzy logic before, it’s basically a way of thinking where things aren’t just yes or no but can be kind of, maybe, or probably. It’s all about dealing with shades of gray instead of things being completely true or completely false. That feels a lot more like how decisions actually happen in real life, especially in tricky situations.

Imagine if the computer on the original Enterprise could say, “This nebula is probably safe,” instead of just safe or unsafe. Or if Spock could say that a plan is mostly logical instead of acting like logic is always perfect or absolute. Then jump forward to The Next Generation or Deep Space Nine, where Data or Odo could use fuzzy logic to weigh incomplete information and make decisions based on probabilities and gut feelings instead of just yes or no answers. It would make them seem more human and relatable when they face tough choices.

Think about Voyager or Enterprise. When the crew is out in unexplored space dealing with unknown species or risky technology, fuzzy logic could help them make better guesses instead of needing perfect data that they rarely have. It would fit perfectly with the uncertainty and improvisation those shows highlight.

Now fast forward to the newer shows like Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, and Picard. Fuzzy logic could make the ship’s computers and AI like Zora or the La Sirena’s systems feel a lot more human by giving them the ability to deal with uncertainty in a more natural way. It could explain how Stamets or Seven of Nine make tough decisions based on incomplete data or unpredictable alien tech. Lower Decks especially could have some fun with that by showing how fuzzy logic makes their transporter or ship systems sometimes only mostly work, which could add to the humor and tension.

What do you all think? Would fuzzy logic make Star Trek’s technology and AI feel more real and grounded across the series? Or would it take away some of that clear-cut Starfleet logic and idealism we love? Would it add more excitement and unpredictability or just make things more complicated?

 

[knightgrace]

Okay, I have studied fuzzy logic since the early 1990s. And the most shocking thing of all, is that I am still not a politician.
I know extremely shocking.
What fuzzy logic does is to multiply the truth value by some number from zero to one.
By doing this, it affectively, decreases the number of 'If-then-else' statements to describe a given production system. Or increases the power of a single 'If-then-else' statement by, typically a factor of ten.
For a production system(original called "expert system "), one requires a minimum of about 800 rules, this means that a fuzzy logic system is the equivalent to an 8000 rule based system, typically. Do keep in mind that the ten fold improvement is typical, not fixed.

An example: say you want a computer controlled mile long train. In a 'crisp' logic system you have to have a rule for each unit of distance to come to a full stop. In a a fuzzy logic system the rule would be, " begin at one mile from the station light braking, at one half of a mile began moderate braking, at 100 feet begin heavy braking. "

The fuzzy logic computer, will scale to a continuous increase in braking, in stead of stair step.