Why Star Wars droids make no sense

Today we talk several key questions, including why Star Wars droids never really advanced to the miniaturized artificial intelligence you may expect! That and more on today's Star Wars legends lore video!

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Edited by MarMarBunbun

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[EckhartsLadder]

Support the channel or don't my wife is probably gonna snatch the money anyway:

[poripqg]

0:12 I'm sorry but that astromech looks like it mugged the pope.

[tehrulefoo]

4:46 There's a brief scene in Edge of Victory 2 where Jaina Solo is flying close enough to Kyp Durron during some hyperspace travel that they can see each other through their X-wing cockpits while they chat over the comms. So it seems like if ships jump at the same time, they still exist in close proximity in hyperspace.

[mattstorm]

I'm reminded of a conversation in mass effect 2, In the shadow broker's lair you can find a recording of Legion and EDI talking to each other. EDI is an AI and Legion is a collection of VI with emergent intelligence. EDI isn't allowed to communicate directly with alien networks so the only way they can talk is vocally. EDI added that even if she wasn't she would still prefer to speak vocally in case anyone walks in on them. If they communicated directly, sending packets as light speed, the organic would have no idea what was happening. Don't want to be rude and want them to understand.

[Vidiocity]

"Anakin had to die to avoid confusion with the prequels" 😑 that's comic book-level synergy

I love that we'll never stop asking questions about hyperspace lol

[sterlingdennett]

FIRST QUESTION: If your AI is integrated into your ship, then it will be REALLY difficult to pull it out, if it decides it doesn't like you anymore, and doesn't want to follow your orders. You can still disconnect a droid from your computer quite easily, and even destroy it if you have to. It's kind of like the Butlerian Jihad in DUNE, where people don't trust thinking machines anymore. In Star Wars, there have been droids (and droid uprisings) for thousands of years. Droids are only trusted so far, and no farther. It's simply a bad risk, knowing what COULD happen.
SECOND QUESTION: Hyperspace is SUPPOSED to be another, higher dimension, so you SHOULD be able to detect other ships in Hyperspace. In-universe, it seems that only mass can be detected while in HS. IF you accept Disney Canon (I personally do not), then Hyperspace Tracking has finally been developed by the First Order, and that answers your question. Taking it further, in some sci-fi, there are "tunnels" that can be found in space/subspace/hyperspace that allow one to travel quickly, like jumping in a fast-flowing river. And in SOME sci-fi, you can generate those tunnels yourself, using your ship's engines. I think of Star Wars Hyperspace travel like this latter form. A ship is not only traveling through the Hyperspace "dimension", but generating a "hyperspace tunnel" around the ship while doing so. While this tunnel drastically increases your speed, it also adds another "layer" of space/hyperspace around your ship, which can block scans and communications. This is why, in Star Wars, ships come OUT of HS travel blind to what situation they are coming out into.

[uccmaster]

The reminder that Star Wars was envisioned to be Space Fantasy WWII/Vietnam War. There's pretty much a Star Wars version of every major piece of WWII technology developed by the Axis or the Allies. When you work with that mindset, then the technology of the Star Wars galaxy makes way more sense.

[Pyxel_]

I think it's the original Han Solo trilogy, could be wrong, but if I remember correctly that series explains droids being designed the way they are because of a past droid uprising with massive AI and ship-based computers. It even references Asimov's Laws of Robotics. Droid design tended towards limited individual entities because when they did try having big AI automated technology it caused more problems than it solved because of droid sentience. The droids we see in Star Wars were the compromise between convenience and peace of mind.

[IuIianos]

Star Wars is a soap opera. It's not about the technology, but archetypes. It doesn't need to be realistic. Still fun to fantasize about the technology though ofc.

[starsilverinfinity]

For the first question, I want to add that in Star Wars cybersecurity is often seemingly bypassed easily via direct connection - as weird as it might sound, I imagine another reason why so many things are seemingly controlled primarily by humans is due to the risks that might come around from someone doing something to the droids controlling your ship and using it to usurp your rcontorl. There is also the fact that they seemingly have tried the "droid controlld ship" idea before in modern times and they're either really dumb (Recusant) or once they get enough of a grip on their eistance can deem you not necessary and (among other things), just leave (Lorenar's Crusader). Having a droid with the fire power of a star destsoyer in a verse where droid rebellions are not an unknown quantity just seems like absolutely asking for rit.

For the second question, I think the whole mapping analogy is probably the reason why. Hyperspace lanes arer based don mapped data - the "width" and "safety" of the lane is based on how many other people have mapped it out and how often its updated since, on the massive timescale of the star wars universe, movements of celestial bodies can mess things up (hence the Deep Core being hell to traverse. So a lane's "width" could be appro imated to how many different entrance/exit data pairs have been not only found but shared - and similarly, a seemingly longer lane might be faster simply because the route it paths is alot more well understood.

Think of it like trying to detour throuhg a store youve never been in vs just going around it like you usually do - sure the store path MIGHT be quicker, but you can also get stuck/slowed down by people, ailse arrangement, etc

[jannegrey]

When it comes to AI it's possible that some factor is money. We see in Andor decently smart "Computer" - but that is in what I'd call a "Yacht" basically. The antique collector's one. I wouldn't be surprised if ship like Darth Maul's one also had one. Though him being a Sith maybe he didn't need it. And also the ship we're talking about is not as small as X-Wing so "miniaturization" could still be an issue.

[CitizenHarry]

"Physical access is total access", plus "in space, no one can hear you scream" - if you're in the middle of nowhere & Important Thing breaks, it's vital to be able to repair or replace it yourself, so many boards with wires connecting them & physical disconnects so that an overload is contained makes sense.
Droids needing to physically spin a complicated connector is rather ridiculous from a tech perspective, many more opportunities for failure than a static connection - but for a movie, it's a visual indicator that they're /doing/ something, vs blinking lights.
Also, there are a few comments about how our "hero" droids are particularly independent & mouthy, their "owners" get criticized for allowing them to be that way, so we can assume most others are much more boring & obedient.

[drtaverner]

Wireless networking will always be slower, less secure, and less stable than a hard connection (electrical/optical over wire/fibre). It makes sense for droids to connect via hardline, for officers to carry physical "keys", etc...

[MrLennart]

The droids and star wars technology overall makes perfect sense if you understand the time in which it was thought up and how someone growing up back then viewed computer technology.

[patryn]

There was a back story i seen a while back stating that the ancestors to the star wars universe suffered an ai uprising they fought off. As a result they kept everything focused on people rather than intregrated computer networks.

[Mr.OTS]

4:40
The OG version of hyperspace is the best and least ridiculous.

That is:
In space, there’s no barrier or particles slowing you down or preventing you from accelerating to and past the speed of light.
Therefore, Hyperspace travel is a term for traveling faster than light, which is why the stars streak past the windshield as the ship accelerates so fast the stars turn into lines.
A hyperspace lane is a super long distance path in space, between points, that has no planets/asteroids/etc. between points A and B, so you can travel at hyperspeed without worrying about slamming into something because you’re going too fast to see things come up in front of you.

Edit: This is how hyperspace initially worked in the original trilogies

[nottonyhawk]

The way i think of ot with hyperlanes is depending on how well mapped they are, they could be up to a lightyear wide. Theyre wide enough that 2 ships would have to be purposefully aiming for eachother for any sort of collision to be possible

[HunterDrone]

i would have argued the most bizarre thing about SW droids is the fact that they all have serial numbers so short that it implies any given model has less than 10 000 units have been produced.
in a galaxy with quintilions of people.

[Sacromento]

The term you’re looking for is Retro futurism

[dorrianstone]

🚢 Think about hyperspace lanes like shipping lanes in maritime travel. Certain routes across the ocean get used more, the lanes are general paths rather than a clearly defined area. Theyre also known to be free of sandbars, reefs, etc. Most common trade ships prefer popular shipping lanes cos theres more known and theres also more opportunities to get help from another ship if you have a problem at sea. Titanic travelled on a shipping lane which is why other ships came to its recue within a few hours.