• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

It's the M-5 Unit, Sir!

ZapBrannigan

ZapBrannigan

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
Well it may not be the M-5 Multitronic Unit, but the Navy's new destroyer is controlled by a "Total Ship Computing Environment" system that can do almost as much.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-04-02/the-navys-newest-destroyer-is-a-drone

Where M-5 and HAL went crazy all on their own, the only thing that can turn this ship against us will be sophisticated hackers who gain access to the Captain's password and that of one additional officer. So basically, nothing can go wrong... go wrong... go wrong...

DAYSTROM!!!!!
 
Interesting, and I suppose inevitable. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had an episode along these lines, too. There it worked pretty well, save for an onboard interloper to mess things up, as I recall.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
. . .the only thing that can turn this ship against us will be sophisticated hackers who gain access to the Captain's password and that of one additional officer.
Click to expand...
That will happen within 30 days after the hackers figure out how to connect to the system.
 
Mr. Laser Beam said:
If this thing isn't connected to the Internet, then how could hackers get ahold of it?
Click to expand...

Every person and nearly all high-tech things are connected to the Internet now. The ship's systems will be "talking" to their manufacturers, like the engines of Malaysian Flight 370 did for hours after the transponder was deactivated. They have to be wirelessly networked to do this.

And if (say) China's technical surveillance bureau can't hack into the ship's machinery remotely, they'll run elaborate email scams on Navy and Pentagon personnel, and if necessary send agents in person to join the Navy and work it from the inside. I'd be astonished if the Chinese and others were not already hard at work on it.

As to feeling confident that our guys know what they're doing, and they'll stay secure against spies and hackers, I don't. Based on our history over the past 40 years, and it's getting worse all the time, I don't think our systems are secure at all.
 
LMFAOschwarz said:
Interesting, and I suppose inevitable. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had an episode along these lines, too. There it worked pretty well, save for an onboard interloper to mess things up, as I recall.
Click to expand...

I played those episodes back to back for a friend. We're fans of both shows, but we had to give the win to Trek. Much more exciting.
 
Maybe we would be better off with a true, self-aware AI (if we could ever create one) in this circumstance. It would be always on guard to protect itself from outside interference in its systems and would be motivated to do so.
 
ssosmcin said:
LMFAOschwarz said:
Interesting, and I suppose inevitable. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had an episode along these lines, too. There it worked pretty well, save for an onboard interloper to mess things up, as I recall.
Click to expand...

I played those episodes back to back for a friend. We're fans of both shows, but we had to give the win to Trek. Much more exciting.
Click to expand...

I'd say you two are probably right...but you gotta hand it to the dialogue-free, act-long scene of Captain Crane wandering the ship. You know, the one where he's hearing all the clanking sounds, loading the gun and all that. I thought David Heddison was great in that!

Not to mention the music. I had to stop and rewatch the end of the act when Crane discovers the split radio wires. I was like "Hey, wait a minute..." when the music there evoked Hawaii Five-O and the tidal wave shot before commercial breaks...sure enough, the composer was Morton Stevens of Five-O fame.
 
ssosmcin said:
LMFAOschwarz said:
Interesting, and I suppose inevitable. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea had an episode along these lines, too. There it worked pretty well, save for an onboard interloper to mess things up, as I recall.
Click to expand...

I played those episodes back to back for a friend. We're fans of both shows, but we had to give the win to Trek. Much more exciting.
Click to expand...

Remember what the name of the episode is? I don't think I've ever seen that one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

McCovey Cove
First Duty: Musashi #1 - "In the Shadow of Alnilam" (WIP)
2 3
Replies
52
Views
4K
McCovey Cove
McCovey Cove
Oddish
Even the Finest Captains Make Mistakes - Nov/Dec Challenge Entry
Replies
0
Views
797
Oddish
Oddish
A
Peak of Fools - a friendship/adventure story
Replies
0
Views
647
a troubled tribble
A
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top