INNERS%CMU-CS-C@sri-unix.UUCP (06/28/83)
From: Mike Inners <INNERS@CMU-CS-C> Did I see the same movie? I'm not sure, since I seem to have missed the anti-computer message. In the print I saw, the humans seemed to be the unreliable part of the system. Not only did they fail to launch their missles upon valid orders, they had not managed to learn from running all of those nuclear exchange simulations. I saw the WOPR's behaviour in planning and (attempting) execution of a full retaliatory strike to be representing the attitudes and thick-headedness of the human planners that appear to control our strategic forces at this time. Unlike them, the computer actually learns from an intensive series of simulations. Taking the movie's premises, 78% of the human operators would have launched missles, even though no actual attack had occured. This does not seem to indicate that human control would have prevented a spurious counterattack! I do agree that there were flaws. The phone hack is out-of-date (but once possible). I do not share Lauren's confidence that military communications are near-impenetrable. A simple dial-in is unrealistic, but I would bet that you could get in through the regular phone lines if you really tried. I do not find it unreasonable that a infirmary lock (intended to keep randoms out, not hold prisoners) would be far from high-security. Also, note that the WOPR did not control the missles directly. It was forced to resort to trial-and-error code breaking. The AI system was a weak point. Real AI systems are not anywhere near as far along as the WOPR. If it was as advanced as shown, it should have learned about tie games a long time ago. I expect directors to learn that computers do not explode when confused, about the same time that they learn that sound does not carry in space, and that bullet wounds are far messier than shown on TV. Not this century. All in all, though, I could find little trace of 'evil computers'. The computer seemed smarter than most of the people. Required moderate suspension of disbelief (not helped by director), but enjoyable. Not a classic. 'Failsafe' and 'Dr. Strangelove' have greater impact, in part because ill effects are not avoided. -- Mike Inners -------