bailey//rockruff⚪
anyone else find it fucked up that some of the automation in the star trek universe is done by holograms that look and act humans and experience the work they're doing in similar ways to humans?
like, there are very few jobs where that kind of automation would be needed. simply programming something to do the job it was designed for rather than giving it complex human-like programming would've sufficed. and they didn't have to be made in our image.
bailey//rockruff⚪
a doctor makes sense because those with medical concerns might have difficulty trusting a machine, especially if they're in distress. interacting with patients is half the battle for a doctor; trying to win their trust and get to know them on a slightly personal level to make better judgements on what kind of care they need. the human form and programming help immensely with that
bailey//rockruff⚪
but miners, cleaners, engineers?
the former can easily just be robots or holograms with rudimentary nonhuman forms (if using physical robotics wouldn't be ideal). naturally, holograms are a little more durable than organics or machinery, but you don't need to have them be anything like humans nor do you need them to feel and react to their work conditions in human ways.
bailey//rockruff⚪
i'd imagine that cleaners would be pretty easily replaced with automation, and some aspects of engineering too. though i bet there'd still be some folks who like cleaning themselves, and plenty of folks who would love to be engineers, even just to do maintenance on garbage scows.
i don't think you'd need to make human-like holograms and then force them to do a job against their wishes.
bailey//rockruff⚪
in fact, if you're going and designing holograms in the first place, you could probably create a bunch of prototypes, figure out which ones like which jobs, and then encourage them to take up those positions of their own will.
if they say no, keep designing these autonomous holograms until you find one willing to take the job. otherwise, if the human-like aspects aren't necessary, don't implement them unless you want to get into a debate over the rights of holograms
bailey//rockruff⚪
idk, it just seems super silly that anyone would go out of their way to create something complex and nuanced like a human-adjacent hologram and then force it to do menial labour (or anything for that matter) when you could just as easily use a hologram or machinery that doesn't experience the negative stuff, and won't be upset by their treatment and/or working conditions
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