Poll The Doctor as Emergency Command Hologram

[Kilana2]

M.D., researcher, coach for social skills, opera singer, photographer, writer, having sexual experiences whatsoever. The Doctor is Jack of All Trades.

But what it really necessary to become an Emergency Command Hologram? Was it justified to give him subroutines for this? I think in the Message in a Bottle episode he was a bit out of his depth, but put up a good fight against the Romulans. I really can unterstand Janeway's reservations at the beginning. And poor Harry: again someone who tried to steal "his job"....

 

[DonIago]

I think an argument could be made that it makes sense for the Doc to have emergency command capabilities for the same reasons it would make sense for Data to have them; in the event that the crew is incapacitated.

 

[hux]

You're instantly inviting questions that go back to the issue of genetic engineering. Is a hologram naturally more competent in certain situations or does it have an unfair advantage whereby you can simply programme it to be excellent in those areas. They opened a huge can of worms with the doctor.

Fact is... I'd rather have an ECH than a Harry Kim any day of the week.

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

The "ECH" was a ridiculous idea. They should've kept him as just the Doctor, tacking on all this sort of stuff was just far too much for him, and just over-inflated his ego and sense of self-importance (which was already getting far too out of control).

 

[Jedi_Master]

Well, is "command ability" something that can be broken down to it's constituent parts, analyzed, quantified, and then programmed into a machine? I think that the Doctor as a sentient hologram could study and acquire the needed experience to eventually become a good commander, but I don't think he could be "programmed" to be anything more than an excellent actuarial device, not an inspirational leader.

 

[DonIago]

But then, as an emergency device to begin with, an excellent actuarial device may be a higher priority than an inspirational leader.

 

[Lynx]

The "ECH" was a ridiculous idea. They should've kept him as just the Doctor, tacking on all this sort of stuff was just far too much for him, and just over-inflated his ego and sense of self-importance (which was already getting far too out of control).

I totally agree. Sometimes I think that he became too human during the series with that emitter and all that. He was best when he was just a doctor, limited to sickbay and some places on the ship.

 

[Jedi_Master]

But then, as an emergency device to begin with, an excellent actuarial device may be a higher priority than an inspirational leader.

I don't have a wealth of battle experience to pull from, but would a Starfleet vessel ever conceivably be in a situation where a hologram would need to take command - and do more than point the vessel in a direction and make it go as fast as it can?
The episode(s?) that featured the ECH gave the impression that on a ship that had spent years fighting, running, evading, negotiating, and luckily avoiding disaster was somehow so top-heavy that if the "command crew" went down there would be NO ONE on the ship who could manage to figure out which end was up.
As per the idea that the Doctor should have been limited, I disagree. He was a sentient being and there was no reason to "lock him up" when instead he could - like all other sentient beings - learn from his experiences and grow as a person, including acquiring the empathy and humility needed to improve the lives of his friends and co-workers.

 

[OtherGene]

If the powers that be felt the need, and had the technology, to create an ECH program then surely they would also at some point think other important positions within the crew should have this sort of backup? Perhaps an Emergency Chief Engineer?

 

[Kilana2]

If the powers that be felt the need, and had the technology, to create an ECH program then surely they would also at some point think other important positions within the crew should have this sort of backup? Perhaps an Emergency Chief Engineer?

It would be funny if Barclay and Dr. Zimmerman created an Emergency Chief Engineer with Scotty's face (and belly)

 

[Jedi_Master]

This sort of conversation always goes back to the concept of redundancy - how redundant does a fleet that balances the ability to wage catastrophic warfare and the desire to peacefully explore need its ships to be?

Do they value the VESSEL so much that they are eager to preserve it even if they crew is almost all dead? Do they anticipate situations that will call for computer control until the crew can be saved/or recover?

In any case, the computer on any Starfleet vessel is so powerful that safeguards have to be put in place to prevent it from achieving sentience, so why not embrace the idea of a living vessel and have it form a symbiotic bond with its crew? I would rather have an amazing super-computer who values the lifeforms it carries making emergency decisions than one single program.

 

[Crow T. Robot]

I felt that whole storyline was a precursor to the SJW "movement" (for lack of a better word) that's going on now. "Anyone can aspire to be anything they want, no matter what! Even a programmed artificial intelligence program!" Especially in hindsight today, but even when it first aired, it really put a sour taste in my mouth.

Sure, the idea is fine in principal, but it just goes too far.

 

[Kilana2]

I console myself with the fact that the emphasis is on Emergency Command Hologram. And in this case everyone aboard the ship has to be out of commission until the Doctor gets his action.

 

[STEPhon IT]

I thought the concept was what it was; a comedic device which wasn't implemented to be taken seriously. This pretty much showed the writers reached their peak with that overblown character. Desperately trying to write their own TNG Data stories transplanted into the Doctor or, someone even more inappropriate, Seven of 9.

Hard for me to keep a straight face when Holograms were treated like... SLAVES??? Ugh.

It takes such a stupid story for the concept of the ECH to work, I can't possibly think of a scenario where it would be even useful for any sort of mission. When the Captain is not in the picture, the role falls through the chain of command. On TNG, I thought it was a very scary thought of Worf having such an opportunity. OMG, it would be the worst nightmare for a subordinate who had to deal with him in that authority. But, as for Voyager, it's highly unlikely the entire senior staff would be wiped out to where they would depend on the ECH. If it came to that alternative? Just DEEP SPACE NINE it and BLOW UP the ship.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

would a Starfleet vessel ever conceivably be in a situation where a hologram would need to take command - and do more than point the vessel in a direction and make it go as fast as it can?

If the rest of the crew were unconscious or dead? Sure.

@Crow T. Robot: You may want to stop it with the talk of SJW's, for obvious reasons. Whether or not holograms in general have any rights, or deserve any consideration, it's clear that the Doctor is absolutely unique - he can do things that normal holograms could never do, he's a sentient life form in his own right, and thus he deserves the chance to learn and grow. And if he can be a commander as well as a doctor? More power to him.

 

[Crow T. Robot]

He's no more sentient than any of the holograms that show up on a regular holodeck. His programming is just a bit more complex, and the Voyager crew humored the hardware and software that was simulating him way more than they should have.

Allowing him to do whatever he "wanted" sets a dangerous precedent, in fact. Suddenly, holodecks are nothing more than massive death booths in which everyone who's ever used one to simulate a fictional person has actually been creating and then destroying life on a whim. And then if you're giving rights (whether legal or not) to a fictional character like, say, Tom Sawyer, suddenly every incarnation of him is equally deserving of rights. I mean, he's as real as you want to make him in your imagination, so does the act of your "computer" (aka brain) imagining make him real, too? Are people with disassociative identity disorder suppressing the rights of sentient beings, too?

And since holograms are being run by the ship's computer, does that mean the ship itself is a sentient being as well?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The EMH is an absolutely unique individual. He can do things that no other hologram can. He is sentient (you can't prove that he isn't, anyway) where no other hologram is.

 

[Kilana2]

What about Vic?

 

[Crow T. Robot]

The EMH is an absolutely unique individual. He can do things that no other hologram can. He is sentient (you can't prove that he isn't, anyway) where no other hologram is.

Moriarty and Vic both say hi. And what makes you think other most other holograms, if programmed to do so, couldn't simulate sentience every bit as much as the doctor? "Computer, create a copy of Tom Sawyer and make it so that he is aware that he is a hologram and wants to become something more than that." I mean, all it took to create Moriarity was asking the computer to create an opponent that could best Data.

Which, in turn, goes back to my question about ship computers. Since they clearly have the processing power and capability to create sentient life, doesn't that effectively make them sentient, too? And that the people operating the ship are intentionally keeping that sentience effectively lobotomized so that they can force it to work as their tireless, eternal slave as they force it into dangerous situations on a weekly basis?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

If you believe that characters like the Doctor are only simulating sentience, then I can only say this: Prove that YOU are not simulating it as well. You can't, can you?