Editing 2228: Machine Learning Captcha
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
| Latest revision | Your text | ||
| Line 9: | Line 9: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | All websites other than explain xkcd have difficulties with spambots, which are automated entities created in order to log onto a website and spam or otherwise wreak havoc upon it. (This never happens to explain xkcd. | + | All websites other than explain xkcd have difficulties with spambots, which are automated entities created in order to log onto a website and spam or otherwise wreak havoc upon it. (This never happens to explain xkcd.) To guard against this eventuality, websites have implemented {{w|CAPTCHA}}s, a challenge used to prove the user is a human and not an automated program. A typical [[:Category:CAPTCHA|CAPTCHA]] might distort a random sequence of letters and numbers and put it in a strange and/or mixed font and ask a user to type it, or it might show a set of pictures and ask the user which ones contain fire hydrants; these tasks are meant to be easy for humans but obscenely difficult for computers. [[:Category:CAPTCHA|CAPTCHAs]] are a recurring theme on xkcd. |
| − | CAPTCHAs run by Google are also used to train artificial intelligences to get better at these difficult tasks, such as reading poorly-scanned text or identifying objects of interest on the road (the latter being the subject of [[1897: Self Driving]]). | + | [[:Category:CAPTCHA|CAPTCHAs]] run by Google are also used to train artificial intelligences to get better at these difficult tasks, such as reading poorly-scanned text or identifying objects of interest on the road (the latter being the subject of [[1897: Self Driving]]). |
| − | This comic jokes about a malicious CAPTCHA which is being used to train an AI to dominate the world. In order to prevent people from taking shelter, the AI uses the CAPTCHA to ask humans like Cueball to tell it places where they would hide. The implication is that during a robot uprising, the AI, on the side of the robots, would then be able to track down humans much more easily. The choices presented are (left to right, top to bottom): | + | This comic jokes about a malicious [[:Category:CAPTCHA|CAPTCHA]] which is being used to train an AI to dominate the world. In order to prevent people from taking shelter, the AI uses the CAPTCHA to ask humans like Cueball to tell it places where they would hide. The implication is that during a robot uprising, the AI, on the side of the robots, would then be able to track down humans much more easily. The choices presented are (left to right, top to bottom): |
;House | ;House | ||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
:If the robot uprising includes the use of weapons of mass destruction (as in the ''{{w|Terminator (franchise)|Terminator}}'' franchise, or as was threatened in ''{{w|WarGames}}''), then only a hardened military structure is likely to survive. | :If the robot uprising includes the use of weapons of mass destruction (as in the ''{{w|Terminator (franchise)|Terminator}}'' franchise, or as was threatened in ''{{w|WarGames}}''), then only a hardened military structure is likely to survive. | ||
;Car | ;Car | ||
| − | :Cars offer some shelter and, more importantly, mobility in one convenient package. Most families own at least one, and they are widespread in human-occupied areas, so even if the car is not as suitable as a long-term shelter (depending on how the road and gasoline/power networks survive the uprising) it makes a fine first step in evacuating to a more permanent hiding place | + | :Cars offer some shelter and, more importantly, mobility in one convenient package. Most families own at least one, and they are widespread in human-occupied areas, so even if the car is not as suitable as a long-term shelter (depending on how the road and gasoline/power networks survive the uprising) it makes a fine first step in evacuating to a more permanent hiding place. This is of course assuming that the car is not self-driving and that hostile self-driving cars are not widespread. |
;City | ;City | ||
:Cities offer thorough selections of supplies and tools that may be harder to come by in more rural areas, but they are also home to lots of robots and automated systems that may participate in the uprising, not to mention humans who may be prime targets for the machines. It may be necessary to visit the city to stock up on supplies in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but in the early stages of a robot uprising, it is best to leave them as quickly as possible. | :Cities offer thorough selections of supplies and tools that may be harder to come by in more rural areas, but they are also home to lots of robots and automated systems that may participate in the uprising, not to mention humans who may be prime targets for the machines. It may be necessary to visit the city to stock up on supplies in a post-apocalyptic scenario, but in the early stages of a robot uprising, it is best to leave them as quickly as possible. | ||
| Line 30: | Line 30: | ||
:The log with a board leaning on it is an example of an improvised shelter. Such a shelter could be constructed anywhere with local materials, and would not be marked on any map known to the robots, which are both positives for surviving the onset of the uprising. However, it is lacking in insulation and protection, which makes it less suitable for longer stays. | :The log with a board leaning on it is an example of an improvised shelter. Such a shelter could be constructed anywhere with local materials, and would not be marked on any map known to the robots, which are both positives for surviving the onset of the uprising. However, it is lacking in insulation and protection, which makes it less suitable for longer stays. | ||
;Mailbox | ;Mailbox | ||
| − | :Only a very young | + | :Only a very young infant could fit in this mailbox. This is not a viable shelter. |
;A hole in the ground | ;A hole in the ground | ||
:Like the improvised shelter, this option can be made almost anywhere and is easy to camouflage, and it offers additional insulation from weather and weapons of mass destruction. It's a fine option if you happen to already have one or know where to find one, but it will be difficult to create a suitable one after the uprising begins. | :Like the improvised shelter, this option can be made almost anywhere and is easy to camouflage, and it offers additional insulation from weather and weapons of mass destruction. It's a fine option if you happen to already have one or know where to find one, but it will be difficult to create a suitable one after the uprising begins. | ||
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
Some of these choices may be {{tvtropes|CowTools|Cow Tools}}, that is, presented not as serious options but to be funny because they are nonsensical. | Some of these choices may be {{tvtropes|CowTools|Cow Tools}}, that is, presented not as serious options but to be funny because they are nonsensical. | ||
| − | The title text imagines a different malicious CAPTCHA which Randall says is "more likely" than the robot-uprising scenario, in which a company or government asks users to identify "disloyal" members of society. Presumably the company or government would then use this information to eliminate such "disloyal" members, either by firing them (company) or jailing, expelling, or executing them (government). This follows a theme of previous comic strips (e.g. [[1968: Robot Future]]) in which Randall expresses that he is more concerned about humans using AI for evil ends than he is about AI being evil in itself. | + | The title text imagines a different malicious [[:Category:CAPTCHA|CAPTCHA]] which Randall says is "more likely" than the robot-uprising scenario, in which a company or government asks users to identify "disloyal" members of society. Presumably the company or government would then use this information to eliminate such "disloyal" members, either by firing them (company) or jailing, expelling, or executing them (government). This follows a theme of previous comic strips (e.g. [[1968: Robot Future]]) in which Randall expresses that he is more concerned about humans using AI for evil ends than he is about AI being evil in itself. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
