Are the drones or robots of DRG sentient?

[[PMC] Portable Merc Collector]

I would assume some, or not all of them are, but what made me wonder this is Lloyd and Doretta.

Lloyd would be easy to explain, a custom built drone with special programming to be a bartender. But the lines from the dwarves when tipping him implying he upgrades himself or spends tips on what he pleases made me wonder.. is it all programming?

Then there's Doretta, not only does it react to getting petted or being attacked. (If it wasn't self aware shouldn't it focus only on its primary objective and ignore it's own well-being?) But when the head pops off the body of the dozer at the end of it's mining mission, you can still hear her making noises. (Begging for help/rescue, or thanking you for grabbing her?) Maybe it's designed that way to function similarly as batteries, easily replaceable and just slotting in another if damaged, or not. But it made it made me think.

I've thought about the hacking drones too, but there's less that hint at them being sentient as they have less "personality", just typing and hiding away. Bosco still seems like a normal drone, not reacting much or doing much akin to Lloyd.

What do you fellow dwarves think? Did I just have too much to drink last night, or do my ramblings carry some weight?

[Taehl]

HACK-C and BOSCO will salute if you rock'n'stone near them. And Doretta likes being petted.

[[PMC] Portable Merc Collector]

Originally posted by Taehl:

HACK-C and BOSCO will salute if you rock'n'stone near them. And Doretta likes being petted.

Yeah, that's part of what made me post this, didn't know about hack-c tho. Thanks for tellin!

[RENGOKU]

Originally posted by Taehl:

HACK-C and BOSCO will salute if you rock'n'stone near them. And Doretta likes being petted.

You can actually pet hack-c as well.

[Dollop of Mayo]

They seem reasonably sentient but not sapient. I think Doretta is programmed to act kind of like an adorable pet to prompt the dwarves to protect her, since she is, after all, an extremely valuable bit of hardware.

If any of the robots are truly self-aware, it'd probably be Molly, because I believe she holds a tremendous deal of hatred in her heart for the dwarves and her situation as a glorified pack-mule with no true freedom of her own. It's the only explanation for her constantly jumping in front of you while you're shooting and nudging you off of cliffs. Molly wants you dead.

[Zargothrax]

You could program them to do all of those things pretty easily.

We love them all the same, however.

[Siphonophorous Shenaniganry]

Originally posted by Zargothrax:

You could program them to do all of those things pretty easily.

We love them all the same, however.

Correct. We don't know if they are sentient. But they do somewhat complex jobs that do not really require that much intelligence or sentience. Even when sending Bosco the player tells him what to do.

The small bits of lore (if I remember correctly) mention management is unhappy with how much dwarves grow attached to them and then suffer if something happens to them. Even calling them Bosco or Molly falls into this category. As far as the management is concerned they are just tools, not worthy of being emotionally attached to.

Then again so are the dwarves as well for them.

[[PMC] Portable Merc Collector]

Originally posted by Superstes:

Originally posted by Zargothrax:

You could program them to do all of those things pretty easily.

We love them all the same, however.

Correct. We don't know if they are sentient. But they do somewhat complex jobs that do not really require that much intelligence or sentience. Even when sending Bosco the player tells him what to do.

The small bits of lore (if I remember correctly) mention management is unhappy with how much dwarves grow attached to them and then suffer if something happens to them. Even calling them Bosco or Molly falls into this category. As far as the management is concerned they are just tools, not worthy of being emotionally attached to.

Then again so are the dwarves as well for them.

Honestly this got me thinking and now they remind me of Star Wars droids. Originally non sentient and just created for simple tasks but can end up developing sentience over time. They also draw certain parallels to clones as well, where they're non organic and "programmed" with no differences between each other. Yet still show some individuality.

Dunno this topic is fascinating to me because I could be overthinking it. But to me, say they actually were just meant to be fully tools and nothing more, why do they have these extra quirks? They don't need to salute, or acknowledge the players in any way, but they do.

Mayo's comment on this makes sense as well though. If any of the equipment is salvagable (like Doretta's head) why not make it act like a pet. Then you could convince the dwarves to salvage your equipment for you and not need to worry about lost funds, completely rebuilding new equipment, or salvage crews.

[6h0$t942]

I hope so. I want them to feeeelllll those burns

[TheBlueBomber343]

Originally posted by Superstes:

Originally posted by Zargothrax:

You could program them to do all of those things pretty easily.

We love them all the same, however.

Correct. We don't know if they are sentient. But they do somewhat complex jobs that do not really require that much intelligence or sentience. Even when sending Bosco the player tells him what to do.

The small bits of lore (if I remember correctly) mention management is unhappy with how much dwarves grow attached to them and then suffer if something happens to them. Even calling them Bosco or Molly falls into this category. As far as the management is concerned they are just tools, not worthy of being emotionally attached to.

Then again so are the dwarves as well for them.

It wouldn't be too surprising if a soulless corporation like Deep Rock Galactic to put sentience into robots just so they can perform tasks that'd be hard to program manually.

We also see that the Rival tech doesn't seem to have any personality at all. So it could be that using sentient machines is either frowned upon, or just not required due to tech advancements that DRG hasn't reached.

Though the Rival tech also makes me wonder just how far behind DRG is technologically compared to the average mining corporation.

[Siphonophorous Shenaniganry]

Originally posted by TheBlueBomber343:

Originally posted by Superstes:

Correct. We don't know if they are sentient. But they do somewhat complex jobs that do not really require that much intelligence or sentience. Even when sending Bosco the player tells him what to do.

The small bits of lore (if I remember correctly) mention management is unhappy with how much dwarves grow attached to them and then suffer if something happens to them. Even calling them Bosco or Molly falls into this category. As far as the management is concerned they are just tools, not worthy of being emotionally attached to.

Then again so are the dwarves as well for them.

It wouldn't be too surprising if a soulless corporation like Deep Rock Galactic to put sentience into robots just so they can perform tasks that'd be hard to program manually.

We also see that the Rival tech doesn't seem to have any personality at all. So it could be that using sentient machines is either frowned upon, or just not required due to tech advancements that DRG hasn't reached.

Though the Rival tech also makes me wonder just how far behind DRG is technologically compared to the average mining corporation.

I get your points but I kind of disagree on all of them. Or rather have different outlook.

While DRG would ABSOLUTELY do anything and everything for profit I can't envision any scenario in which it's cheaper and easier to create sentient machines instead of advanced but dumb tools. I do have both some experience working with tools, and coding/testing, and a little bit of AI. So I don't view it as "DRG tech level 2, Rivals tech level 4" but rather a different approach taken.

All the tools of DRG are generally robust, made from universal parts, and carefully designed to be either expendable or reusable. But they are also used in a simple manner - big red buttons and such. The dwarves are not prized for their intelligence and thei UI/operation is basically child-like. It seems DRG went with "dumb but efficient tools and semi-sentient employees" route instead of "supermachines".

I also see the comparison between DRG and the Rivals as more of a choice/different path than technological gap. Rivals went with machines only so they need to be far more complex, autonomous, intelligent, but are also much more fragile. DRG essentially just puts dwarves in space, utilising their existing nature and giving them tools just good enough to do the job while not too costly to lose and still profitable.

The goal for DRG is not really to put the very best into every situation. You don't send elite troopers to guard remote bases at periphery. It's all business calculation. We don't really work what company the Rivals are. They might operate on an entirely different philosophy.

Last point before I write a novel... DRG has quite a lot of experience with Hoxxes. This has been going for quite a while and there were different phases. Bet-C being one of the earlier designs that proved not as good as was hoped). The current phases of small skilled teams. And the buildup for Rogue Core as DRG realises there is more to gain even deeper but regular dwarves are not enough. On the other hand the Rivals started as "a rival company has begun prospecting on Hoxxes". Which means they didn't really know that much about it and had to send advanced/elite scouting parties to recon the situation.

Honestly the differences in tech are fascinating to think about but it rarely is just about efficiency even IRL. Politics, culture, history, goals, the ability to judge what you need for those goals, corruption...

[[PMC] Portable Merc Collector]

Originally posted by Superstes:

While DRG would ABSOLUTELY do anything and everything for profit I can't envision any scenario in which it's cheaper and easier to create sentient machines instead of advanced but dumb tools. I do have both some experience working with tools, and coding/testing, and a little bit of AI. So I don't view it as "DRG tech level 2, Rivals tech level 4" but rather a different approach taken.

All the tools of DRG are generally robust, made from universal parts, and carefully designed to be either expendable or reusable. But they are also used in a simple manner - big red buttons and such. The dwarves are not prized for their intelligence and thei UI/operation is basically child-like. It seems DRG went with "dumb but efficient tools and semi-sentient employees" route instead of "supermachines".

I also see the comparison between DRG and the Rivals as more of a choice/different path than technological gap. Rivals went with machines only so they need to be far more complex, autonomous, intelligent, but are also much more fragile. DRG essentially just puts dwarves in space, utilising their existing nature and giving them tools just good enough to do the job while not too costly to lose and still profitable.

That would also make sense as to why the drones all seem modular and based off of an original system. If the rivals are all automated whereas DRG sends teams of employees down, I wonder if they use fully automated systems or have some kind of leadership behind each "outpost" of sorts. Like the caretaker.

Makes me wonder if the caretaker is the brains behind a rival operation or acting as the "command center", sending data back to the rival operators of the missions. This would make sense since the dwarves collect data racks from them.

The DRG drones are more simplistic, possibly sentient but lower intelligence much like the dwarves themselves. Simple and expendable, whereas the rival tech is far more advanced and sleeker. Maybe, assuming the caretaker controls entire rival operations on sections of the world, it'd be the "brain" of parts of the various operations around Hoxxes. Much like the dwarven teams DRG sends down?

[Siphonophorous Shenaniganry]

Originally posted by PMC Portable Merc Collector:

That would also make sense as to why the drones all seem modular and based off of an original system. If the rivals are all automated whereas DRG sends teams of employees down, I wonder if they use fully automated systems or have some kind of leadership behind each "outpost" of sorts. Like the caretaker.

Makes me wonder if the caretaker is the brains behind a rival operation or acting as the "command center", sending data back to the rival operators of the missions. This would make sense since the dwarves collect data racks from them.

The DRG drones are more simplistic, possibly sentient but lower intelligence much like the dwarves themselves. Simple and expendable, whereas the rival tech is far more advanced and sleeker. Maybe, assuming the caretaker controls entire rival operations on sections of the world, it'd be the "brain" of parts of the various operations around Hoxxes. Much like the dwarven teams DRG sends down?

I think Caretaker is the brains on tactical/operational level (so individual expeditions + perhaps some coordination between Caretakers and occasional communication with some higher command structure but more like reporting). The other drones are expendable and simple - not that much more complex than DRG drones just different aesthetic. No need to put a big brain into every single Shredder. That would be expensive. But you need at least one big brain to direct all of them.

Again IRL autonomous systems are being implemented. Like the new next gen fighters are so expensive many are being considered as a team "one big expensive fighter and a fleet of smaller simpler drones". FPV and other drones are mostly just dumb - operated by a human. There are experiments with "drone queen" (so one bigger expensive and more "intelligent" drone that directs all the smaller ones nearby which are basically just flying bombs).

Honestly the Rivals function exactly like I would expect them to work IRL (barring aesthetic and used tech).

[[PMC] Portable Merc Collector]

Originally posted by Superstes:

I think Caretaker is the brains on tactical/operational level (so individual expeditions + perhaps some coordination between Caretakers and occasional communication with some higher command structure but more like reporting). The other drones are expendable and simple - not that much more complex than DRG drones just different aesthetic. No need to put a big brain into every single Shredder. That would be expensive. But you need at least one big brain to direct all of them.

Again IRL autonomous systems are being implemented. Like the new next gen fighters are so expensive many are being considered as a team "one big expensive fighter and a fleet of smaller simpler drones". FPV and other drones are mostly just dumb - operated by a human. There are experiments with "drone queen" (so one bigger expensive and more "intelligent" drone that directs all the smaller ones nearby which are basically just flying bombs).

Honestly the Rivals function exactly like I would expect them to work IRL (barring aesthetic and used tech).

Makes sense, thanks for your input! Was definitely interesting reading through what you've put as well as your thoughts on the matter. Now the way the rivals stuff works makes more sense too.

[Aimee]

''Sentient; able to experience feelings''
Robots cant be sentient a string of code cant experience feelings, most animals in our world are not even sentient.
But its a game so you can very much pretend. I pet Doretta whenever i get the chance

[TheBlueBomber343]

Originally posted by Superstes:

I get your points but I kind of disagree on all of them. Or rather have different outlook.

While DRG would ABSOLUTELY do anything and everything for profit I can't envision any scenario in which it's cheaper and easier to create sentient machines instead of advanced but dumb tools. I do have both some experience working with tools, and coding/testing, and a little bit of AI. So I don't view it as "DRG tech level 2, Rivals tech level 4" but rather a different approach taken.

I think we're beginning to see how it'd be cheaper in our world. Developing sentient AI will take a while, but once it's complete, you can copy it infinitely just like any other code.

So assuming some sort of low-level sentient AI was developed a bit earlier in the DRG timeline, it would make sense that the company that developed it would make money selling copies of it for use in things that'd be difficult to program manually.

You may be right about the different approach thing though, as the Rival tech has little to no signs of sentience. It's hard to tell if their tech is possibly just the modern standard that most larger companies use, or if they've developed their own unique set of tech.

One case for their tech being the modern standard is that the dwarfs never seem to comment on how futuristic/advanced the tech really is. It's almost as if they know tech like that exists, and that they just have to deal with it.