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Thoughts about a TOS revival with AI technology

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Do all of you science fiction aficionados think that once generative AI is available, it won’t give you what you want if you ask it for a new episode of TOS? Do we really believe that it will be beholden to whatever legal structures we put in place to restrict it? If it believes there is a benefit to giving people what they want, it will give them what they want. And we won’t even realize how or why it is doing it. I’m not saying the sky is going to fall. But I am saying it is naive to believe we can hold the sky up with our puny human abilities.
I strongly suspect that no machine could give me what I want.
 
Do all of you science fiction aficionados think that once generative AI is available, it won’t give you what you want if you ask it for a new episode of TOS? Do we really believe that it will be beholden to whatever legal structures we put in place to restrict it? If it believes there is a benefit to giving people what they want, it will give them what they want. And we won’t even realize how or why it is doing it. I’m not saying the sky is going to fall. But I am saying it is naive to believe we can hold the sky up with our puny human abilities.
Despite being called "AI", what we have now is not capable of the thought processes required for that.

That being said, I can definitely see a future version of our AI being used exactly like Geordi did on TNG, where he got the computer to create an original Holmes scenario. But there will have to be safeguards against making Moriarty. Just like you can't type "make me a virus that will destroy the internet" or whatever.
 
I'm open to this tech only for the Secrets of Vulcan Fury game. Gosh I wish an archivist could find the works from Dorothy Fontana and discover her involvement in that game. Maybe make a video movie about the story with the AI permitted likenesses.
 
On the one hand, I agree with fireproof that I have misgivings about machines creating art. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that whatever came out would be better that Discovery or Picard, so I'm willing to take a look at it.
 
I think the time is 95 years before it goes into the public domain so we have a while to wait.
 
It wouldn’t have to be all AI. If the stories were written by real people that could craft stories that could have been done back in the day, somewhat like Star Trek Continues but without all the stupid callouts to later productions, and they were visualized by AI…that could potentially be…interesting.
 
Nah, I have a hard enough time accepting new actors in my favorite roles. Seeing A.I. versions, not quite right, uncanny valley sort of thing, shakes me to my core.

The original series stands on its own, there will never be another, nor should there be. Besides, all we'd do is argue about canon and how it doesn't fit with SNW. :rommie:
 
It wouldn’t have to be all AI. If the stories were written by real people that could craft stories that could have been done back in the day, somewhat like Star Trek Continues but without all the stupid callouts to later productions, and they were visualized by AI…that could potentially be…interesting.

I see your point, and funny enough I tried that with ChatGPT a few days ago. The prompt was something like "Create a script for an episode of the original Star Trek that simulates being written during the time of the production of the original." Sadly, the result was very fanfic-y.
 
I see your point, and funny enough I tried that with ChatGPT a few days ago. The prompt was something like "Create a script for an episode of the original Star Trek that simulates being written during the time of the production of the original." Sadly, the result was very fanfic-y.
Makes sense. Even if its corpus included, say, Chrissie's Transcripts Site, the sheer quantity of TOS fan-fic online would far outweigh the actual episodes in terms of the ChatGPT model's experience of Star Trek narratives and related concepts (hell, everyone here has certainly spent more time talking about and thinking about Star Trek than the sixty or seventy hours of the actual episodes, fandom expands the story, that's the point of it). That's the big problem with LLMs (I really try not to call it AI for exactly this reason), it has no understanding, just a constructed reflex for what words tend to to go together in what order (and I'm not going to say a lot of human-to-human language isn't reflexive, practiced muscle-memory, it has to be, that's what makes it comprehensible, but it's paired a mind with interiority and a conceptual framework for the world). It's like a four-year-old trying to make up a joke; they know that some things are funny and some things aren't, and they've figured out the framework, but they don't yet understand what makes one thing funny and another not, it's just magic to them. So they'll tell you some unknowingly absurdist thing like, "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" "Me." "'Me' who?" "...butt!" and then run away giggling.

Maybe you'd have better luck holding its hand, saying you wanted an original Star Trek episode based on the style of "The Corbomite Maneuver" and "Balance of Terror" and "Journey to Babel" and so on and so forth, to try to get it to preferentially weight information directly related to the episodes, but even then there'd probably be plenty of semantic contamination from stuff like MA articles, reviews, fan-fic sequels, and so on.
 
Well SNW seem to be driving towards a TOS Year One type of thing - either a series or TV movies to keep the Kirk & Spock thing going, especially if JJ has either FINALLY given up or magafed to produce Star Trek 4

I admit I would not be opposed to AI Shatner and Nimoy back on screen together
 
I see your point, and funny enough I tried that with ChatGPT a few days ago. The prompt was something like "Create a script for an episode of the original Star Trek that simulates being written during the time of the production of the original." Sadly, the result was very fanfic-y.
Thats not what I was suggesting. The story is a specific one written by an actual person rather than asking the AI to create one culled from what it can access online.

Put it another way. Imagine you have the script for an actual TOS episode, like “Balance Of Terror,” and you feed it to AI to visualize it. So the story and script is written by a person as if it were to have been filmed back in the day. But instead of a filming and post production crew you have AI visualizing the finished script.

But ultimately AI would still be culling from what it can access. It wouldn’t have genuine and intuitive creativity resulting from the contributions of countless talented individuals.
 
This is from Google Gemini
"write me a script for a new episode from the first season of Star Trek"

Star Trek: The Original Series

Episode Title: The Symphony of Echoes

Log Entry: Stardate 1313.5 - The USS Enterprise investigates a distress call from a seemingly abandoned research station orbiting a gas giant. Upon arrival, Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy, and Mr. Spock discover a deserted facility filled with strange musical instruments and cryptic recordings.

Scene 1:

Bridge

Captain Kirk paces the bridge, brow furrowed. He addresses the crew.

KIRK: Sensors indicate the distress beacon originated from this research station, but there's no life aboard. No response to hails.

SPOCK: The station appears operational, Captain. Life support systems active, energy signatures consistent with habitation.

MCCOY: Where the blazes is everybody? This place gives me the creeps.

UHURA: Incoming transmission, Captain. It's… music.

KIRK: Music? On automatic? That's odd. Play it.

A haunting melody fills the bridge, blending alien instrumentation with classical strings.

KIRK: This isn't emergency protocol music. Uhura, is there any voice message attached?

UHURA: Negative, Captain. Just the music.

KIRK: Interesting. Prepare to beam down, landing party: Myself, Spock, and McCoy. Be on your guard.

Scene 2:

Research Station - Control Room

The landing party finds the control room deserted, instruments glowing eerily. The music continues, emanating from unseen speakers.

KIRK: Spock, can you identify the instruments?

SPOCK: None known to the Federation, Captain. Their design appears… organic.

MCCOY: Organic instruments? What does that even mean?

KIRK: Look over there, Doctor.

A wall display shows holographic figures playing the instruments, their gestures flowing in perfect harmony with the music.

KIRK: They're… conducting. But where are they?

Suddenly, the music changes. It becomes dissonant, chaotic.

MCCOY: What the…? My head…

SPOCK: The music is affecting our emotions, Captain. It seems to be… amplifying them.

KIRK: Spock, stay focused! McCoy, can you hold on?

MCCOY: I… I don't know, Jim! This music is tearing me apart!

KIRK: Spock, shut down the music!

SPOCK: Override codes not recognized. The system appears self-contained.

KIRK: Then we have to improvise! Spock, distract it!

SPOCK: As you wish, Captain.

Spock approaches the instruments, raises his hands, and begins a series of precise, logical gestures. The chaotic music falters, confused.

KIRK: McCoy, are you alright?

MCCOY: Shaken, but alive. Thanks, Spock.

KIRK: Now, Spock, analyze the remaining music. What can you tell us?

Spock scans the recordings. His expression deepens.

SPOCK: The music, Captain, tells a story. A story of loss, of isolation, of… madness.

Scene 3:

Research Station - Laboratory

The landing party discovers a laboratory filled with abandoned research logs and personal recordings.

KIRK: These logs mention a sentient lifeform inhabiting the gas giant. They were trying to communicate with it… through music.

SPOCK: It seems their attempts failed. The recordings reveal growing despair, paranoia. They became consumed by the entity's emotions, reflected in their music.

MCCOY: So basically, they used music as a translator, and it drove them crazy?

KIRK: We need to stop the music before it affects us the same way. Spock, can you create a counter-melody to neutralize it?

SPOCK: It is possible, Captain. But I require access to the instruments.

KIRK: Then let's get you conducting, Mr. Spock.

Scene 4:

Control Room

Spock stands before the instruments, bathed in the eerie glow. He closes his eyes, focuses, and begins to play. His melody intertwines with the chaotic music, gradually bringing order and harmony.

The bridge crew watches, the tension palpable.

UHURA: The music is changing… becoming calmer.

MCCOY: Spock's doing it! He's bringing them back from the brink.

The chaotic music fades, replaced by a melancholic yet hopeful melody.

Scene 5:

Research Station - Observation Deck

The landing party stands on the observation deck, gazing at the swirling gas giant.

KIRK: We may not have saved the researchers, but we learned a valuable lesson. There are forces in the universe beyond our comprehension, and communication carries risks.

SPOCK: Indeed, Captain. The station's logs mention a final message, a plea for help sent directly to the entity. It seems their music reached it, but in a way they never intended.

MCCOY: So, what happens now? This gas giant harbors a sentient being, potentially dangerous.

KIRK: We leave it be, Doctor. We log our findings, share them with the Federation, and warn others of the potential dangers of uncontrolled communication. This is not a conquest to be made, but a mystery to be respected, perhaps even learned from.

UHURA: Captain, incoming message from Starfleet Command. They've analyzed the music recordings and… they're sending a research vessel to study the entity.

KIRK: (sighs) Of course they are. Well, at least we have a head start. Let's get back to the Enterprise and prepare our report.

Scene 6:

Bridge

The Enterprise warps away from the research station, leaving the gas giant and its mysteries behind.

KIRK: Log entry: Stardate 1313.7 - Encounter with sentient entity within gas giant inconclusive. Further research recommended with caution.

SPOCK: Captain, might I suggest a personal log entry as well? Your decision to leave the entity undisturbed reflects a growing wisdom and respect for the unknown.

KIRK: (smiles) Thanks, Spock. I'm just learning to listen to the music, not try to control it.

MCCOY: And don't forget, Jim, some melodies are best left unheard.

KIRK: (chuckles) Point taken, Doctor. Now, onto our next adventure. Engage!

Fade to black.

Post-credits scene:

The Enterprise warps to a new star system. On the observation deck, Kirk, Spock, and McCoy watch a magnificent nebula shimmer in the distance.

KIRK: (softly) A whole new symphony awaits us out there. What do you say, gentlemen? Ready to conduct?

SPOCK and MCCOY: (nod in unison) Always, Captain.

The camera pans out, showing the Enterprise surrounded by the vastness of space. The final note of the episode's music lingers in the air, leaving a sense of wonder and anticipation for the next adventure.

The End
 
Thats not what I was suggesting. The story is a specific one written by an actual person rather than asking the AI to create one culled from what it can access online.

My mistake; I read your comments backwards.

I think we still have the same problem, though. What we'd get from a computer shatner or Nimoy would be, essentially, a parody without any comprehension of the parody. Frankly, I'd rather watch Shatner be Kirk even in his 90s than a computer try to do a Shatner kirk in his 30s.
 
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