What are your thoughts on Synths? Are they good? Bad?

[TacticalFaux]

I have the completed the game with the minuteman ending. I am not too worried about spoilers with that being said, unless there is something massive I missed. But if not for me, please put spoilers tags over anything that may be spoiler-y for the sake of anyone else reading this.

Anyway, just putting this thread out to see peoples opinions on what to do about synths. Should they die because they are just machines? Or should they live because someone made them sentient? Are they a menace to society, or helpful?

EDIT: Realizing this thread has become a serious debate I thought I'd put in this video I saw awhile ago in hopes it may give some more insight since Synths are, in fact, robots. Watch it if you'd like, if not, suit yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHyUYg8X31c

[Yhwach]

Synths only serve the need for a forboding incest session with curie, otherwise they should be destroyed.

But seriously, what defines humanity?
The willingness to think?
A free will at all?
Or simply the ability to express genuine empathy for your fellow man?
Synths are able to do all of those things, regardless of their programming and have shown so if you do The Institute storyline, so there's not really that much of a difference besides how they're made, right?

[pedantic_roc]

imho, and the Railroad's for that matter, the synths themselves are fine. It's their creators who aren't entirely stable and are a danger to mankind.

[Yhwach]

Originally posted by pedantic_roc:

imho, and the Railroad's for that matter, the synths themselves are fine. It's their creators who aren't entirely stable and are a danger to mankind.

Is It really dangerous to improve on mankind, to advance basic technology that would save thousands, and make the world more self sufficient?
Of course not, that is the main goal of The Institute, and the only saviour of The Commonwealth.

[pedantic_roc]

Originally posted by Ainz:

Originally posted by pedantic_roc:

imho, and the Railroad's for that matter, the synths themselves are fine. It's their creators who aren't entirely stable and are a danger to mankind.

Is It really dangerous to improve on mankind, to advance basic technology that would save thousands, and make the world more self sufficient?
Of course not, that is the main goal of The Institute, and the only saviour of The Commonwealth.

Don't ask me, ask Adam Jensen. :D

[Simple Man]

Wiping synths out is your present to mankind.

Gen3s don't reproduce, don't age, nothing stops them from turning bad, and they're stronger and faster than regular humans. Despite those soppy stories the game tries to present you like that H2-22 or whatever his name is, they're a threat to the commonwealth.

If your women are all synths, if your men are mostly synths all of the sudden, you're dead within a generation and not from radiation. Institute gets their way, Mankind redefined. Everyones a robot now, but hey, at least you were attentive about the toaster "feelings" lol.

[pedantic_roc]

lol - reminded me of the toaster in the Big MT. I love that guy.. :D

[Hobo Misanthropus]

There's nothing wrong with Synths, the same way there's nothing wrong with humans.

The exisitential threat of Synths doesn't come from the synth itself, but from the ability to produce them. The synthetic "Original Sin" if you will.

[danconnors]

Synths usually carry good weapons and armor. I kill them on sight to loot their goodies. Their loot is usually much better than a standard raider, who I slaughter hundreds of. Raiders are low life human beings; synths are high grade "humans". Put bullets in them, and they all die.

[leem]

Law of nature the superior animal wins. Just the very existence of a gen 3 means that mankind is no longer the top species. Synthetic evolution can be very fast or even skip several generations. Synth would beable to improve themselves endlessly making smarter, faster and stronger changes everytime. Synth would technically be infinitely smarter than humans eventually we would be like a cat or dog to them. All life on earth would be at their pleasure. I know us humans do the same to world now but since we are humans I kinda prefer it.

[Hobo Misanthropus]

Originally posted by leem:

Law of nature the superior animal wins. Just the very existence of a gen 3 means that mankind is no longer the top species. Synthetic evolution can be very fast or even skip several generations. Synth would beable to improve themselves endlessly making smarter, faster and stronger changes everytime. Synth would technically be infinitely smarter than humans eventually we would be like a cat or dog to them. All life on earth would be at their pleasure. I know us humans do the same to world now but since we are humans I kinda prefer it.

Synths in Fallout have not reached the Singularity yet. If anything, the Synth body taking the form of a human is a safeguard against that, since humans are limited by their biology and physiology.

[leem]

Originally posted by Hobo Misanthropus:

Originally posted by leem:

Law of nature the superior animal wins. Just the very existence of a gen 3 means that mankind is no longer the top species. Synthetic evolution can be very fast or even skip several generations. Synth would beable to improve themselves endlessly making smarter, faster and stronger changes everytime. Synth would technically be infinitely smarter than humans eventually we would be like a cat or dog to them. All life on earth would be at their pleasure. I know us humans do the same to world now but since we are humans I kinda prefer it.

Synths in Fallout have not reached the Singularity yet. If anything, the Synth body taking the form of a human is a safeguard against that, since humans are limited by their biology and physiology.

We would be too stupid to know when it happened. By the time we noticed it would be after we already lost.

[Triple Goober Berry Sunrise]

why should machines be worth more then human life?

[caesar_andy]

Synths on their own are neither good, nor bad. They may be somewhat self-conscious, but as Fallout3 had shown, even the most advanced Synths are controlled by some kind of a sourcecode that can be changed. And that is a problem. If some hillybilly medician in a half-drowned warchip can completely overhaul a Synths personality, you can not consider them a "Safe" technology. All in all they are just selfconscious tools. Like robots. But Mr Handy was not build to dominate the world at least.

[Xyzzy]

Roland synth, good. Waldorf synth, good.

[apexpez]

Meh. Wasteland society needs all the hands they can get to rebuild. If they're non violent and willing to assimilate - which I would think most of them would be all things considered - then let them be.

Slightly off topic: Now the mechanical synths, I don't know. That would depend on whether a neutral party could get control of them. Otherwise they're a danger.