Droid Heuristic Processor

[Mithias]

Droid Heuristic Processor
​

Affiliation:
Open Market

Manufacturer:
Various

Type:
Droid UpgradePower Supply:
Droid Core

Sensors:
N/A

Size:
Replaces Standard Droid Processor

Composition:
Varies

DESCRIPTION​

This droid upgrade replaces the basic droid processor. The heuristic processor. This allows the droid to use reasoning to work through the decision-making process, drawing on what has been learned in the past and think "outside the box" when performing tasks it is given. Restrictions in programming are still in effect, unless altered. This affects the droid's behavior when faced with how to accomplish a task, but does not play into the droid's experience and how "smart" the droid is.

The heuristic processor allows the droid to work around it's Behavioral Inhibitors as long as it can justify a given action. For example, a noncombatant Droid with a heuristic processor can attack and even harm a sentient living being as long as it believes that doing so will ultimately save more sentient beings from harm. Some progressive masters actually encourage their Droids to break their programming, trusting the droid's judgment to make independent decisions without taking advantage of the situation.

There are some drawbacks to installing a heuristic processor. Droids with this upgrade usually gain a heightened sense independence. Droids often creatively interpret their tasking, allowing it to complete tasks in a manner that it deems appropriate. A heuristic processor allows a droid to work around it's behavioral inhibitors as long as it can justify a given action--which can bring the owner big trouble in many cases. Most droids are not fitted with this upgrade unless the owner wishes for these outcomes.

Due to this propensity for independence and misinterpreting instructions, droids are not mass-produced with heuristic processors.

LEGALITY​

Legal. Heuristic processors are permitted in most regions of the Galaxy.

INTENT​

The intent of this submission is to provide an upgrade for droids. The heuristic processor is an upgrade for those that wish to have their droids possess more "sentient-like" decision-making capability. This is a typical "upgrade" for independent PC droids.

 

[AutoFox]

So, in practical, RP terms, I'm not quite sure what sort of advantage this upgrade gives. While there are in-universe things for how smart and creative a given droid is, they've always basically been as intelligent as the story calls for. Droids spared from memory wipes and allowed to accumulate experiences will probably develop the same characteristics this upgrade is supposed to grant.

 

[Mithias]

Hi @AutoFox and thank you for the review. If the processors have advanced a good bit and such a device is obsolete, feel feel to archive this. However, there is a distinct difference in a droid that has a basic processor and one that has a heuristic processor. This is an example given in the literature:

A Heuristic Processor allows a Droid to work around it's Behavioral Inhibitors as long as it can justify a given action. For example, a noncombatant Droid with a Heuristic Processor can attack and even harm a sentient living being as long as it believes that doing so will ultimately save more sentient beings from harm.

...some progressive masters actually encourage their Droids to break their programming, trusting the Droid's judgment to make independent decisions without taking advantage of the situation.

This processor allows the droid to operate outside of black and white terms. It allows them to think outside the box and operate in the gray. Owners who want droids to follow their commands to the letter and stay inside their programming will not a heuristic processor installed. Those who want the droid to understand that sometimes "it depends on the situation" will want the heuristic processor installed.

 

[Wit]

Auto brings up a good point regarding droids being as smart as the story demands. I just want to ask something along the same lines, if this gets approved and I want to have interactions with a Droid and want him to be smart and more sentient then would the Droid then need to have this upgrade? If yes then that seems like a restriction on how people have used droids.

 

[Mithias]

Hi @Wit

You must have missed my last post. In that post I said this:

A Heuristic Processor allows a Droid to work around it's Behavioral Inhibitors as long as it can justify a given action. For example, a noncombatant Droid with a Heuristic Processor can attack and even harm a sentient living being as long as it believes that doing so will ultimately save more sentient beings from harm.

...some progressive masters actually encourage their Droids to break their programming, trusting the Droid's judgment to make independent decisions without taking advantage of the situation.

This is different than how smart your droid is and the personality it develops over time. Heuristic processor is the behavior they exhibit when given a task.

I did edit the post somewhat to clarify this point.

 

[Wit]

I think you missed my point and I can’t really get what the quoted lines mean with regards to what I’m asking.

From your write up: “The heuristic processor enables the droid to learn through experience and base decision-making based on those experiences, thinking "outside the box".”

What I am asking is will this write up mean that the above can only happen if a droid has this upgrade? Will my run of the mill droid NPC that doesn’t have this upgrade now have a limitation on it? Will it enforce a new rule saying “your droid doesn’t have the heuristics upgrade so it can’t learn from experience and evolve”?

If the answer is yes then that seems like an unnecessary limitation, if no then this seems a little redundant to me.

@Mithias

 

[Mithias]

Hey @Wit

I see your point on the verbiage I used. I did a bit of "wordsmithing" in my edits so that it would clarify the observation you made. Hopefully it is a bit clearer now.

 

[AutoFox]

Unfortunately, I'm still really not sure of why this item needs to exist, given the way droids are portrayed in role-play on this site. Droids display this sort of behavior all the time, given a compelling plot reason to do so, and @Wit 's point bout tying such behavior to a specific upgrade item makes me disinclined to make it a thing.

Very nice bit of word-smithing, and overall a nice submission, but I'm afraid I find this must be archived.