Re: TNG/DS9 timeframe should be full of AI or remote controlled starsh
I kept expecting or hoping for some "coming together of the android minds" on Star Trek. Next Generation kept promoting the false notion that Data was "unique" and a technological leap, when we'd already seen 3 previous Trek episodes to feature androids. I kept hoping at some point we'd see all these androids come together and get sorted out - We had the androids from What Are Little Girls Made Of, I Mudd and Requiem for Methuselah. Now, granted, all these androids were "defeated" by Kirk, but they still represented a technological level of progress in robotics that was never seen elsewhere in Trek. Surely Data could have benefited from such an exchange of information between these separate android species.
We even get the impression from Ensigns of Command that there were some other androids or robots out there. Despite Data being the first android she'd ever seen, Ard'rian seemed pretty savvy on the technology and concept of artificial intelligence. She even had what appeared to be robots in the background of her home.
Even if we stick to the idea of androids being sentient life forms and that creating armies of them would amount to slavery and be wrong, I would still think enough androids would enjoy serving on Starfleet vessels. Such an android officer would beneficial in hazardous and lethal circumstances such as fixing the Warp drive like in Star Trek II.
The technology is already in place for tactical advances with just the computers Starfleet currently uses. We know these computers accept voice input, so they could cut out the "middle man" in a lot of situations. Instead of having a helm officer set course and speed, the computer could do it. Same for targeting weapons. "Computer, lock phasers and fire." Such situations could cut vital milliseconds (or even seconds) out of response time that currently exist in Starfleet ship operations. Even if we assume that human input is necessary in times of combat, eliminating such redundant human operators in non-combat situations would lessen the amount of crew needed to run a starship and, ultimately, save lives (since the crews would be less, then the loss of life from combat or accidents would be less).
Again, of course, this goes back to the M-5 situation. As someone above stated, surely this bug could be worked out in 100 years or, if not, then you simply don't give the computer such unilateral control and freedom. It's all about the programming.