Editing 1881: Drone Training

{{comic
| number    = 1881
| date      = August 25, 2017
| title     = Drone Training
| image     = drone_training.png
| titletext = The joke will be on him in a few weeks when animal control shows up and takes custody of his Roomba.
}}

==Explanation==
In this comic, [[Black Hat]] enters a pet store run by [[White Hat]]. He wants to buy something to help him train his drone, which keeps flying into the wrong rooms. This is absurd as drones are semi-autonomous flying machines, not living creatures like dogs or cats, which can be trained to do tricks, or stay in the correct areas (inside his property). Alternatively, Black Hat could be developing a way to make drones sentient/autonomous in other to annoy other drone-owners when their drones don't obey them or to allow Black Hat's drones to annoy other people without Black Hat having to control them. He also wants a shock collar for his {{w|Roomba}}, which would train it to stay inside or at least on his lawn.

{{w|Cat repellents}} are devices or substances for training cats or repelling them from furniture or other areas. An example of a cat repellent spray which can be created at home as shown here: [http://www.instructables.com/id/Friendly-but-Effective-Cat-Repellent/ Friendly (but Effective) Cat Repellent].

Roomba is an autonomous robotic vacuum cleaner and controlling it by electric shocks from a {{w|Shock collar|shock collar}}, normally used for dogs, is more than questionable. Those collars are legal in the US but banned in nine other countries. A Roomba was previously mistaken for a dog in [[1558: Vet]].

This might be playing with the concept of machine learning.  Knowing Black Hat, he might be poking fun at people's assumptions that modern robots are more advanced than they actually are. It is also possible, however, that he just wants to terrify people with the idea of robot abuse/conditioning, and even more likely that he genuinely believes he can force robots to obey him via inflicting suffering.

The title text may mean one of three things: The endeavor will become a total flop when the Roomba gets rid of the collar and terrorizes the neighborhood; as a result dogcatchers from the {{w|Animal control service|animal control service}} will arrest this "wild animal." Or animal control services will confiscate the Roomba to save it from its abusive owner. Or, possibly, the text refers to White Hat, who also owns a Roomba, and it will be taken into custody because it has not been trained with a shock collar.

==Transcript==
Black Hat and White Hat are standing at opposite ends of a pet store counter. 

Black Hat: My drone keeps flying into the wrong rooms. Do you have anything to discourage it? 

White Hat: Sir, this is a pet store. 

Black Hat: Yeah, I was thinking one of those spray bottles for cats. 

White Hat: I don't think you can train a drone. 

Black Hat: Eh, they say that about cats too. Plus, these days they probably all come with deep learning or whatever. Drones, I mean. Maybe cats too. 

White Hat: Fine, here's a bottle. 

White Hat hands a spray bottle over the counter. 

Black Hat: Do you sell a shock collar that can fit over a Roomba? 

White Hat: I'm going to have to ask you to leave. 

==Trivia==
*This is the first comic since [[1875: Computers vs Humans]] that does not involve the [[:Category:Total Solar Eclipse 2017|August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse]] as subject matter.
*This is the first comic where Black Hat and White Hat speak directly to each other.
*This is the only comic featuring just Black Hat and White Hat.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Roomba]]