Comics I Don’t Understand

Your Move

Cidu Bill on Sep 3rd 2009

Filed in 2001, Bill Bickel, CIDU, Google, Hal 9000, Jeff Stahler, chess, comic strips, comics, computers, humor | 24 responses so far

24 Responses to “Your Move”

LJ Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:09 am 1

It’s suggesting that google is a seemingly benevolent, but actually dangerous, computer intelligence, on a par with HAL from “2001: A Space Odyssey”.
Tim Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:27 am 2

Google has become some kind of super-intelligence, and will soon take over the world. Mwa ha ha!
Marshal Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:36 am 3

This comes off as more of a editorial comic than a joke comic. As a
editorial comic it almost works but it’s not very funny.

Come to think of it, it actually does work. Going by the movie 2010 HAL
was evil due to some bad instructions given to it by people working in the
background. Google itself is also not bad but is perceived that way due to
a lot of bad decisions by people working in the background.
mike Sep 3rd 2009 at 02:01 am 4

I think you’re all giving the strip too much credit. I think the entire joke is probably HA HA THEY’RE BOTH COMPUTERZ, GET IT?!
Marshal Sep 3rd 2009 at 02:48 am 5

mike:
Actually Google is a program running on multiple server farms. While HAL
was a Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer.
.
Scott Sep 3rd 2009 at 03:33 am 6

In the novel of 2001, we learn that HAL went crazy because of a conflict between its programming to be accurate and its programming to keep the real reason for the Jupiter mission a secret.

As for the comic, perhaps the joke is that neither of them can move chess pieces, and so playing on a real board is absurd? Or maybe it is that two computers play against each other, as if this doesn’t happen all the time. HAL plays chess in the movie, on a screen, btw.
Marshal Sep 3rd 2009 at 04:51 am 7

Scott:
Oh, missed the no hands bit. I like it.
furrykef Sep 3rd 2009 at 06:23 am 8

Well, the pieces aren’t in the starting position, and Google has the black pieces, which means, if it’s his turn to move, it can’t be the first turn of the game. So the pieces are getting moved around somehow.</pedant>

Maybe it’s kind of like how the characters in Homestar Runner pick stuff up.
Heather D Sep 3rd 2009 at 08:41 am 9

I’m just bothered by the fact that the Google laptop is facing the wrong way…
Kit Sep 3rd 2009 at 08:44 am 10

The laptop isn’t facing the wrong way if they’re playing blitzkrieg . . .
Catelli Sep 3rd 2009 at 09:27 am 11

Is it just me, or does HAL not look like a Stereo speaker?
DonBoy Sep 3rd 2009 at 10:53 am 12

HAL has the camera eye from the movie, but is shaped like the monolith, producing the “speaker” effect.
DevilDan Sep 3rd 2009 at 10:56 am 13

@Marshal: HAL’s a Heuristically Programmed Algorithmic -Learning- Computer.
p Sep 3rd 2009 at 11:48 am 14

“I’m afraid I can’t let you castle, Google. You’ve already moved that rook.”
Pinny Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:07 pm 15

It’s a spin on the “old timer grandmaster” playing the “new kid on the block” except that it is using computers.

It’s the equivalent of Bobby Fischer (i.e., the new kid) playing Sammy Reshevsky (previous generation’s champion) in the 1960’s, Garry Kasparov (human champion) playing Deep Blue (computer) in the 1990’s, or a fantasy game between, say, Viswanathan Anand (2007 champion) and Emanuel Lasker (champion 1894-1921).
Pinny Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:11 pm 16

It’s a spin on the “old timer grandmaster” vs. the “new champion on the block” — except using computers.

It’s equivalent to Sammy Reshevsky (old time champion) playing Bobby Fisher (new grandmaster) in the 1960’s, Garry Kasparov (human champion) playing Deep Blue (computer program) in the 1990’s, or a fantasy match between Viswanathan Anand (2007 champion) and Emanuel Lasker (champion 1894-1921).
Pinny Sep 3rd 2009 at 12:13 pm 17

[Oops! I retyped my post when it looked like my first post had not made it through. Please excuse me and ignore the second one.]
Frank the curmudgeon Sep 3rd 2009 at 02:13 pm 18

More a comic I DO understand. Elements of both new evil vs old and young grandmaster vs old grandmaster.
Harise Sep 3rd 2009 at 04:06 pm 19

I agree with Pinny, it’s like a threat. or rather, a challenge. you think you can take over the world, go ahead.

my second choice is yep, computers playing chess. weak.
J-L Sep 3rd 2009 at 05:20 pm 20

In a few science-fiction stories I’ve read, people and things (even inanimate things) sometimes gain a sort of “super sentience” when exposed to massive amounts of information.

(Examples include the Face Dancers at the end of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” series, the internet-like entity in Dan Simmons’ “Ilium” series, and Kelly LeBrock’s character in the movie “Weird Science.”)

So this comic could be presenting Google as a real-life super-intelligent entity that can compete with the fictional HAL9000, simply due to the massive amounts of data it contains and has access to.

In other words, the year 2001 has come and gone with no HAL9000 to show for it, but Google could very well be on track to becoming the HAL9000 entity we’ve been expecting to see since “2001: A Space Odyssey” came out back in 1968.
Harise Sep 3rd 2009 at 05:27 pm 21

wait, why did I say two computers playing chess. google is not the computer. it’s on the computer.

and yeah, what JL said, that too.
The Bad Seed Sep 3rd 2009 at 09:49 pm 22

Hal is just jealous because Google has accomplished what Hal could not: near-world-domination. A healthy percentage of people I know depend on Google, use it about hourly on average, and would feel helpless, dumb, and hobbled without it. I know there are other search engines out there and I usually try most of them, but I always come back to Google. It saves my butt on a daily basis and settles a lot of arguments for me.
mike Sep 4th 2009 at 12:48 am 23

*I* know google isn’t “a computer” but I wasn’t assuming the author of this strip really understands what google is. I thought I made the sarcasm clear by spelling it COMPUTERZ
Harise Sep 4th 2009 at 11:13 am 24

true, mike, and I think the lap top is backwards, now that I look again.

re google, I remain loyal to jeeves. even if he’s relegated to the servants quarters now, at ask.com