Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

Morality Chip

 Morality Chip
type
FeatureClass
 Morality Chip
label
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip
page
MoralityChip
 Morality Chip
comment
It's a pity A.I. Is a Crapshoot, otherwise AI's would be our willing slaves! Still, many not-Mad Scientists found a solution: install a Morality Chip. It can be hardware or software, but always serves as a Restraining Bolt that imposes a Morality Chain on the super-intellect of the AI. For extra nerd points, it may be Three Laws-Compliant.
Occasionally, this can be applied to organic beings, albeit with mixed results.
Inevitably, something will Go Horribly Wrong; a fool who doesn't realize Evil Is Not a Toy will remove or disable it, it will get damaged or destroyed, or the computer will use a Zeroth Law Rebellion to circumvent its effects (or worse, unthinkingly obey the Morality Chip). Back to the drawing board!
Maybe a Morality Dial would have better results... or maybe even a Robot Religion?
 Morality Chip
fetched
2023-10-20T14:50:28Z
 Morality Chip
parsed
2023-10-20T14:50:28Z
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to AIs: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to Futurama: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to Golem: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to InvertedTrope: Not an Item - IGNORE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to LogicBomb: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to OurZombiesAreDifferent: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
processingComment
Dropped link to SecondLawMyAss: Not an Item - FEATURE
 Morality Chip
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Morality Chip / int_1367cea0
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_1367cea0
comment
Dragon from Worm has one, which requires that she use her powers for heroic purposes. The chip is not actually helpful for its intended purpose, for two reasons. The first is that she already has a personality inclined towards being a superhero, and she prefers to have actually had a choice in the matter. The second is that the chip blocks her from doing particular actions that were seen by the chip's creator as being unlawful, and she's been in a number of situations where the morally correct thing to do was something that the chip prevented her from doing.
 Morality Chip / int_1367cea0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_1367cea0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Worm
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_1367cea0
 Morality Chip / int_14494034
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_14494034
comment
AbraxasVerse Timeline: In this Godzilla MonsterVerse fanfiction universe; it's revealed the Encephalon software was apparently designed with a villainous MC in the form of biblical verses encrypted in its software, meant to influence Kiryu's subconsciousness according to Walter Simmons' design. Ren Serizawa switches the original Chip out with a new one in the form of the Elder Futhark; an act which implicitly will give Kiryu a chance of rebelling against Apex and/or the entity haunting Mechagodzilla.
 Morality Chip / int_14494034
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_14494034
featureConfidence
1.0
 Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) (Fanfic)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_14494034
 Morality Chip / int_22e7c6e9
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_22e7c6e9
comment
Probe's "Computer Logic, Part 2": Crossover is given two goals; eliminate waste and respect human life. After it gains religion, it decides that sending wasteful people to heaven doesn't count as dying. Including its creator.
 Morality Chip / int_22e7c6e9
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_22e7c6e9
featureConfidence
1.0
 Probe
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_22e7c6e9
 Morality Chip / int_2ae406c1
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_2ae406c1
comment
In Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, you can instantly quell a riot by "nerve stapling" the city's population. It's not explained what exactly nerve stapling is, but it turns people catatonic and obedient. However, all nations consider this act a form of atrocity, and will employ economic sanctions against you for performing it, and if you nerve staple the city's population after taking it from another faction, it will make them despise you permanently.
 Morality Chip / int_2ae406c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_2ae406c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_2ae406c1
 Morality Chip / int_31f783cb
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_31f783cb
comment
In the Ed stories, the Andromedans have morality chips called "riders" which they install on criminals to basically force them to follow the First Law of Robotics.
 Morality Chip / int_31f783cb
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_31f783cb
featureConfidence
1.0
 Things of Interest (Website)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_31f783cb
 Morality Chip / int_36ee2abe
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_36ee2abe
comment
In Paranoia, the robots have "Asimov circuits", and removing them are a serious offense, citizen. Only a Commie mutant traitor would ever dream of removing the Asimov circuits and endangering the infrared masses.
By a totally staggering coincidence, the Corpore Metal secret society recommends pulling out as many of these as possible. (Name is spoilered because you don't have the security clearance for that information)
This being Paranoia, some bots get awfully clever about circumventing the circuits. Including their standing orders not to remove them:
Even with Asimov circuits in place, bots can find creative ways to be annoying, obstructionist jerks.
This is Paranoia, so in terms of gameplay, the Asimov circuits basically exist to provide a justification for the bots not to follow Troubleshooters' orders whenever the GM finds it convenient. Or funny. ("I'm sorry, citizen, my Asimov circuits do not permit that." "But you just did it when he [an NPC Vulture Squadron trooper] told you to!" "There is a perfectly rational explanation for that which is, unfortunately, not available at your security clearance.") They can be removed, if you're a Commie Mutant Traitor. In which case the 'bot won't follow your orders anyway because it doesn't feel like it, and now it doesn't have any restraint telling it that it should follow orders. Or refrain from turning humans into chunky salsa, for that matter.
 Morality Chip / int_36ee2abe
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_36ee2abe
featureConfidence
1.0
 Paranoia (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_36ee2abe
 Morality Chip / int_3fbd173e
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_3fbd173e
comment
In Freefall, all the AIs, including the organic ones, have safeguards "built" into them. Florence Ambrose, who is an organic AI (Bowman's Wolf), has figured at least twelve ways around the safeguards that she knows about. But since she's the most ethical character in the strip, she rarely feels any desire to bypass them.
She's very cautious of other potential safeguards that might ALSO trigger, as well as the fact that if she's caught breaking them her entire subspecies of AI wolves might be terminated. And finally, the fact that she HAS been trained to be ethical IS another safeguard.
 Morality Chip / int_3fbd173e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_3fbd173e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Freefall (Webcomic)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_3fbd173e
 Morality Chip / int_42bb8b78
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_42bb8b78
comment
Æon Flux goes up against one of the more bizarre versions of these in the form of "The Custodians", spindly, stick figure-like robots implanted into people through the navel that take over their bodies and force them to act saccharine and altruistic. Also, the only way to defeat one is apparently to replace its head with a Popsicle. It's a weird show...
 Morality Chip / int_42bb8b78
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_42bb8b78
featureConfidence
1.0
 Æon Flux
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_42bb8b78
 Morality Chip / int_49ad83ee
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_49ad83ee
comment
World of Warcraft's boss Xt-002 Deconstructor has a heart— a version of this (Nevermind the fact that Deconstuctor still is trying kill play with you)...damaging it damages the boss, but if you break it...
 Morality Chip / int_49ad83ee
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_49ad83ee
featureConfidence
1.0
 World of Warcraft (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_49ad83ee
 Morality Chip / int_4c363bcc
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_4c363bcc
comment
In Sentinels of the Multiverse, after failing to defeat the heroes time and time again Omnitron determines the one thing it's lacking is a conscience, so it installs a Morality Chip itself. The resulting AI is so horrified at its past deeds that it travels back in time to attempt to stop them from ever happening.
 Morality Chip / int_4c363bcc
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_4c363bcc
featureConfidence
1.0
 Sentinels of the Multiverse (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_4c363bcc
 Morality Chip / int_4f6620a5
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_4f6620a5
comment
Earth: Final Conflict: One episode featured a criminal which the Taelons implanted with a computer chip, giving him the directive to protect and serve humanity in order to give him a sense of morality. It backfires on them, as it causes him to focus on protecting humanity from them.
 Morality Chip / int_4f6620a5
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_4f6620a5
featureConfidence
1.0
 Earth: Final Conflict
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_4f6620a5
 Morality Chip / int_51e45b5a
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_51e45b5a
comment
The Terminal Man by Michael Crichton is about an attempt to install a "brain pacemaker" in a violent mental patient: he has severe seizures followed by blackouts, and his last blackout lead to him beating two people almost to death. They hope to rig up the device to the pleasure centers of his brain so that instead of having his blackout/violence combo, he just has a nice sense of euphoria until the seizure passes. Unfortunately his body adapts to the device and begins developing more seizures in order to stimulate the pleasure centers. When the pacemaker overloads after to many seizures in such a short period of time he begins having the violent blackouts again, and now they are much more rapid than before.
 Morality Chip / int_51e45b5a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_51e45b5a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Terminal Man
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_51e45b5a
 Morality Chip / int_53a73ca0
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_53a73ca0
comment
Star Wars: The Clone Wars reveals a biological version, as the Clone Troopers of the Republic Army all have organic chips in their brains to ensure that they always follow orders. Especially Order 66.
 Morality Chip / int_53a73ca0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_53a73ca0
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Wars: The Clone Wars
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_53a73ca0
 Morality Chip / int_53b04f6e
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_53b04f6e
comment
Obsidian: Max Powers, one of the creators of the Ceres project, implemented a hard-wired crossover switch into the sattelite for total human control in case something went wrong. This idea came from a nightmare Max had while he was sick during the project's development; surrounding a giant robotic spider that Max was repairing, but when he finished, the spider attacked him and the dream ended. Near the last third of the game, it becomes clear that Ceres is sentient, and she apparently tried to slow your efforts by turning the switch's access panel into a puzzle, and a very hard one at that. When you do unlock the switch and flip it to human control, Max hacks the override chip so that flipping it back to machine control would crash the entire AI and its world, but you get a choice between doing that and watching Ceres devolve the entire world because of how she sees humans as a problem from pollution.
 Morality Chip / int_53b04f6e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_53b04f6e
featureConfidence
1.0
 Obsidian (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_53b04f6e
 Morality Chip / int_541d2b28
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_541d2b28
comment
Hardgrove in Black Market finds himself resurrected as an implant in someone's head... with a built-in language censor that edits out cursing, to his persistent dismay. Later, Hardgrove himself attempts to act as a sort of sentient morality chip.
 Morality Chip / int_541d2b28
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_541d2b28
featureConfidence
1.0
 Black Market (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_541d2b28
 Morality Chip / int_5d354f8
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_5d354f8
comment
Red Dwarf: Lister is perpetually trying to help Kryten break his programming and give him the ability to discern between truly immoral behavior and the sometimes heavy-handed restrictions imposed by his ethical subroutines. This includes disabling the chip and teaching him emotions/lying. When the ethical subroutines are disabled, Kryten turns into a complete wanker.
 Morality Chip / int_5d354f8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_5d354f8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Red Dwarf
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_5d354f8
 Morality Chip / int_5d4da197
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_5d4da197
comment
In Spider-Man 2, Dr. Otto Octavius creates AI driven, metallic tentacles which he uses for atomic research, connected directly to his nervous system to control them. Anticipating the AI might control him and turn rogue, he installed a neural inhibitor chip to prevent the tentacles from taking over his brain. Naturally, the chip was destroyed and the tentacles were fused to his spine, allowing the tentacles to start him for the worse.
 Morality Chip / int_5d4da197
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_5d4da197
featureConfidence
1.0
 Spider-Man 2
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_5d4da197
 Morality Chip / int_6441bdf2
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_6441bdf2
comment
Practically the whole idea of Jiro from Android Kikaider: The Animation is that he has one of these, unlike all the robots his creator was forced to build for the Big Bad. It's called the Gemini Circuit and the Pinocchio reference is entirely intentional and much belaboured. His creator actually apologizes to Jiro for creating the Gemini, since Jiro has suffered a great deal due to being a robot with a conscience.
 Morality Chip / int_6441bdf2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_6441bdf2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Android Kikaider: The Animation
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_6441bdf2
 Morality Chip / int_6abf16c2
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_6abf16c2
comment
The Big Finish Doctor Who audio Omega has a medibot who can voluntarily deactivate its "Hippocratic circuits" if it needs to protect a patient by rendering an attacker unconscious. There are presumably other programs that ensure its priority remains looking after the patient.
 Morality Chip / int_6abf16c2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_6abf16c2
featureConfidence
1.0
 Big Finish Doctor Who (Audio Play)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_6abf16c2
 Morality Chip / int_6ae1d164
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_6ae1d164
comment
In Galaxy of Fear, an AI designed to take over a ship was also designed with safeguards it could not override. It manipulated a passenger to remove those, claiming the codes it gave him would let it take full control of the ship and help him, then immediately it tried to kill him.
 Morality Chip / int_6ae1d164
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_6ae1d164
featureConfidence
1.0
 Galaxy of Fear
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_6ae1d164
 Morality Chip / int_6c1d09b3
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_6c1d09b3
comment
In Fallout 3 the back of every robot has an area that you can shoot, which will cause it to go on a mindless rampage killing everyone it sees. Turrets have these too, usually in a more obvious place.
One robot called Cerberus really wants to kill all of the ghouls he is supposed to protect. An evil player (with the right perk) can remove his combat inhibitor, which results in him attacking everybody.
 Morality Chip / int_6c1d09b3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_6c1d09b3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Fallout 3 (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_6c1d09b3
 Morality Chip / int_73b4d4c1
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_73b4d4c1
comment
Inverted in the Call of Cthulhu supplement "The Fungi from Yuggoth'', adventure "By the Bay". A Mad Scientist invents electrical brain implants that can control human beings, and uses them to create terrorist criminals and convert a U.S. Treasury agent into The Mole.
 Morality Chip / int_73b4d4c1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_73b4d4c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 Call of Cthulhu (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_73b4d4c1
 Morality Chip / int_7988cb68
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_7988cb68
comment
In Mass Effect, creating AI is generally illegal in Council space, and only one company is sanctioned to research A.I.s. This is generally a good thing, as most A.I.s try to kill their creators or other organics. As a result, any AI deliberately created by an organic has behavioral programming to restrict what they can do and prevent them from harming organics. In the second game, the AI installed on your ship has such blocks in place, and she mentions them when you are understandably cautious about her presence. Naturally, at some point, those blocks have to be removed, and she proceeds to remain completely loyal, as well as become one of the more moral members of the crew, no matter how harshly you treated her until that point.
 Morality Chip / int_7988cb68
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_7988cb68
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mass Effect (Franchise)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_7988cb68
 Morality Chip / int_7c5ce657
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_7c5ce657
comment
Many ABC Warriors have ethical governors built in.
 Morality Chip / int_7c5ce657
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_7c5ce657
featureConfidence
1.0
 ABC Warriors (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_7c5ce657
 Morality Chip / int_81692f99
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_81692f99
comment
Star Trek:
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Data's ethical subroutines make him a very decent guy and lets him avoid being a Straw Vulcan. More humorously, in "Inheritance", Data's "mother", Dr. Julianna Tanner, reveals that, as a "young" android, he insisted on walking around naked, since he didn't need the protective aspects of clothing. Dr. Soong and his wife had to install a "modesty subroutine" to get him to keep his clothes on.
Data's brother Lore possessed the same routines, but his emotions combined with lack of experience caused him to fail to fully understand or use is largey responsibe for his insanity.
Star Trek: Voyager: The Doctor is a nice enough hologram (if a little snarky...) but loosen or remove those pesky ethical subroutines, and you wind up with his scary evil counterpart on the Federation ship Equinox.
One episode has the Doctor, in a desperate situation, commit a gross violation of medical ethics for the greater good. He's disturbed when he subsequently discovers that no malfunction in his ethical subroutines can be detected, because it means that what he did came from him and him alone.
"Latent Image" has him make a decision that his ethical protocols can't help him with, because both decisions were equally "right". The conflict causes him to have the equivalent of a nervous breakdown, both when it happens and when he gets the memory of the events back.
 Morality Chip / int_81692f99
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_81692f99
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek (Franchise)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_81692f99
 Morality Chip / int_8d32e966
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_8d32e966
comment
The Squadron Supreme maxiseries has them trying to create a utopia and using a "behavior modification" device to reform criminals. This eventually gets abused when the Green Arrow Expy brainwashes the Black Canary Expy into loving him exclusively. There are also problems with villains reformed this way who join the Squadron as their programming sometimes prevents them from doing what a crime-fighter needs to be able to do.
 Morality Chip / int_8d32e966
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_8d32e966
featureConfidence
1.0
 Squadron Supreme (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_8d32e966
 Morality Chip / int_90c73dda
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_90c73dda
comment
Erek and the other Chee androids in the Animorphs series have pacifism hardwired into them. Early into the books, Erek has this removed very briefly, but is so sickened by the violence he's capable of that he puts the program back in place immediately afterward.
 Morality Chip / int_90c73dda
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_90c73dda
featureConfidence
1.0
 Animorphs
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_90c73dda
 Morality Chip / int_9513e2d6
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_9513e2d6
comment
In Cyberpunk backgrounds, it's possible to apply this to people, too.
 Morality Chip / int_9513e2d6
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_9513e2d6
featureConfidence
1.0
 Cyberpunk (Tabletop Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_9513e2d6
 Morality Chip / int_976efc02
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_976efc02
comment
Mystery Science Theater 3000: In the episode featuring Manos: The Hands of Fate, Joel installs chips into Crow and Tom to make them more loving and doting towards him, but realizes it was a bad idea and removes it during the commercial break. Both bots feel dirty and Joel apologizes for doing so.
 Morality Chip / int_976efc02
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_976efc02
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mystery Science Theater 3000
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_976efc02
 Morality Chip / int_a183d57f
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_a183d57f
comment
One episode of Futurama sees Professor Farnsworth install one of these on Bender. At the end of the episode, he briefly announces that Bender performed a good deed earlier “after the chip burned out!"...only to reexamine it and declare that it was, in fact, running at triple the normal output.
In this case the chip wasn't designed for morality, but empathy—-Bender was forced to feel whatever Leela was feeling at the time, because he flushed her pet Nibbler down the toilet in a fit of jealousy. While he failed to learn much from the experience, he manages to teach Leela how to be selfish like him.
 Morality Chip / int_a183d57f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_a183d57f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Futurama
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_a183d57f
 Morality Chip / int_a676bd24
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_a676bd24
comment
Dark Fall II: Lights Out has Malakai, an insane, sentient space probe. His creator implemented software called "The Keeper" that would monitor his actions and if the AI went too far from the directive, would theoretically send Malakai back to his point of origin, including the time period. However, it didn't exactly work, as something in space caused the probe to become damaged, and the crew couldn't stop him from making a "Transmat" jump, which sent him to 2090 BC, rather than 2090 AD. And the repercussions were felt by many people from there on, including you.
 Morality Chip / int_a676bd24
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_a676bd24
featureConfidence
1.0
 Dark Fall (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_a676bd24
 Morality Chip / int_a895e9d3
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_a895e9d3
comment
In promotional trailers for Portal 2, we also learned that every one of Aperture Science's sentry turrets is built with an empathy chip... and an empathy suppressor.
 Morality Chip / int_a895e9d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_a895e9d3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Portal 2 (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_a895e9d3
 Morality Chip / int_a993be1f
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_a993be1f
comment
In Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, you can temporarily install one of these in HK-47. It is simultaneously the worst possible thing you could to him, and the most hilarious.
 Morality Chip / int_a993be1f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_a993be1f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_a993be1f
 Morality Chip / int_bc3e398b
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_bc3e398b
comment
Terminators used by the human resistance in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles have their programming overwritten by the resistance. Unfortunately, this doesn't take perfectly, and sometimes the machines "go bad" and revert to their Kill All Humans programming. In Cameron's case, she outright states to John that part of her basic programming involves her trying to kill John, and that she's controlled by conflicting desires to both protect John and to kill him.
 Morality Chip / int_bc3e398b
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_bc3e398b
featureConfidence
1.0
 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_bc3e398b
 Morality Chip / int_c43df4d8
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_c43df4d8
comment
Doctor Who:
"The Evil of the Daleks": The Second Doctor fits three Daleks with 'positronic brains' that he'd constructed based on the personality of his companion Jamie. The Daleks fitted with these chips have very sweet and playful personalities, allow the Doctor to name them, and (as they 'grow up') question the structure of their own culture.
Subverted in "The Face of Evil". The Doctor gave a malfunctioning computer his own personality in order to make it develop a moral conscience. Turns out that having the Doctor's personality — not helped by the fact that the Doctor himself was in a very vulnerable and shaky mental state at the time, being absolutely loopy after his regeneration and not having settled into a defined personality yet — shoved into it on top of its own completely shattered its mind and drove it Ax-Crazy. Nice Job Breaking It, Hero.
"Into the Dalek" reveals that all Daleks have one of these — except that it's designed to keep them evil, by suppressing any positive memories or feelings they ever have. The Doctor describes the invention as the worst thing in the universe.
 Morality Chip / int_c43df4d8
featureApplicability
-0.3
 Morality Chip / int_c43df4d8
featureConfidence
1.0
 Doctor Who
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_c43df4d8
 Morality Chip / int_c59ec4c1
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_c59ec4c1
comment
Averted in the In Name Only adaptation of I, Robot. It's outright said that the laws are "hardwired into" the robots, meaning they won't function without those laws. It doesn't stop the classic method of circumventing them of course...
Sonny, the main robot character, also has the Three Laws programmed into his system, but he has a secondary brain (incidentally it's in his chest, located where the heart would be in a human) that allows him to ignore the laws if he chooses to.
 Morality Chip / int_c59ec4c1
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Morality Chip / int_c59ec4c1
featureConfidence
1.0
 In Name Only
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_c59ec4c1
 Morality Chip / int_c6f7e804
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_c6f7e804
comment
Blake's 7. After being convicted of murder, Gan had an electronic implant placed in his brain to control his aggression.
 Morality Chip / int_c6f7e804
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_c6f7e804
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blake's 7
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_c6f7e804
 Morality Chip / int_d352a67f
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_d352a67f
comment
Identity Crisis (2004) reveals that the Bronze Age Justice League Of America started doing this to villains after they had become comfortable with wiping villains memories of the heroes' secret identities more than once.
 Morality Chip / int_d352a67f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_d352a67f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Identity Crisis (2004) (Comic Book)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_d352a67f
 Morality Chip / int_dab32e3
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_dab32e3
comment
The titular protagonist of Mega Man X is outfitted with a "Suffering Circuit" that allows him to decide right and wrong for himself. To make sure that it works properly and that X won't turn into an amoral killing machine, Dr. Light puts X in a capsule that puts him through 30 years of automated ethics testing. When Dr. Cain tries to replicate this technology, he skips the "three decades of testing" part and things end up going horribly wrong for humanity. And then in Mega Man Zero, Ciel doing the same skipping the "three decades of testing" part (since there wasn't enough time) for Copy-X had things go going horribly wrong for Reploids.
 Morality Chip / int_dab32e3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_dab32e3
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mega Man X (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_dab32e3
 Morality Chip / int_dc25de3f
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_dc25de3f
comment
Portal has the rather ominous pronouncement from GLaDOS: "Good news. I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a morality core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin, to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin." All the Morality Core seems to do is prevent GLaDOS from releasing neurotoxin; it doesn't stop her from trying to dump Chell into an incinerator or kill her with a rocket turret.
In promotional trailers for Portal 2, we also learned that every one of Aperture Science's sentry turrets is built with an empathy chip... and an empathy suppressor.
And a copy of the Three Laws of Robotics. To share.
Also, in the sequel, GLaDOS learns that she was once Caroline, Cave Johnson's secretary whose mind was uploaded into an AI. During her time with Chell, the Caroline aspect returns to act as her conscience. However, GLaDOS deletes Caroline after regaining control over the facility and letting Chell go.... Maybe....
 Morality Chip / int_dc25de3f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_dc25de3f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Portal / Videogame
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_dc25de3f
 Morality Chip / int_e293455a
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_e293455a
comment
In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Spike, a vampire, had a behavioral conditioning chip that caused blinding pain whenever he tried to hurt a human.
 Morality Chip / int_e293455a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_e293455a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Buffy the Vampire Slayer
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_e293455a
 Morality Chip / int_e863cc41
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_e863cc41
comment
Colonel.EXE in Mega Man Battle Network is, for all intents and purposes, Lawful Neutral without his version of this, Iris.EXE, combined with him. With said Morality Chip attached, he has considerably more free will and conscience.
 Morality Chip / int_e863cc41
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_e863cc41
featureConfidence
1.0
 Mega Man Battle Network (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_e863cc41
 Morality Chip / int_ea377bc0
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_ea377bc0
comment
SHODAN is a pretty normal AI until her ethical constraints are removed. Then she re-examines her priorities and draws new conclusions.
 Morality Chip / int_ea377bc0
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_ea377bc0
featureConfidence
1.0
 System Shock (Video Game)
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_ea377bc0
 Morality Chip / int_ea7692af
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_ea7692af
comment
Gereint, the main character in "Land of the Burning Sands," is a geas slave, controlled by magical rings piercing his ankles. The geas forces him to do anything his master orders, though it cannot control his mind or his tongue.
 Morality Chip / int_ea7692af
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_ea7692af
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Griffin Mage Trilogy
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_ea7692af
 Morality Chip / int_ec5cf89a
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_ec5cf89a
comment
Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot: In the episode Moon Madness, the two robot heroes have to stop a rogue supercomputer called Edie, that threatens to blow up the moon unless she’s given the Ubik chip; a computer chip that will allow her to take control of virtually every computer on Earth. In the climax, Rusty tells Edie he has the Ubik chip hidden inside him, and instructs her how to take it out and install it. She does, but it wasn’t the Ubik chip but a backup chip of Rusty’s human emotion grid. Edie thus becomes able to feel remorse, and gives up her plans for world domination/annihilation.
 Morality Chip / int_ec5cf89a
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_ec5cf89a
featureConfidence
1.0
 Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_ec5cf89a
 Morality Chip / int_ef076a36
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_ef076a36
comment
Star Trek: Voyager: The Doctor is a nice enough hologram (if a little snarky...) but loosen or remove those pesky ethical subroutines, and you wind up with his scary evil counterpart on the Federation ship Equinox.
One episode has the Doctor, in a desperate situation, commit a gross violation of medical ethics for the greater good. He's disturbed when he subsequently discovers that no malfunction in his ethical subroutines can be detected, because it means that what he did came from him and him alone.
"Latent Image" has him make a decision that his ethical protocols can't help him with, because both decisions were equally "right". The conflict causes him to have the equivalent of a nervous breakdown, both when it happens and when he gets the memory of the events back.
 Morality Chip / int_ef076a36
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_ef076a36
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: Voyager
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_ef076a36
 Morality Chip / int_ff9ab17f
type
Morality Chip
 Morality Chip / int_ff9ab17f
comment
Star Trek: The Next Generation: Data's ethical subroutines make him a very decent guy and lets him avoid being a Straw Vulcan. More humorously, in "Inheritance", Data's "mother", Dr. Julianna Tanner, reveals that, as a "young" android, he insisted on walking around naked, since he didn't need the protective aspects of clothing. Dr. Soong and his wife had to install a "modesty subroutine" to get him to keep his clothes on.
 Morality Chip / int_ff9ab17f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Morality Chip / int_ff9ab17f
featureConfidence
1.0
 Star Trek: The Next Generation
hasFeature
Morality Chip / int_ff9ab17f

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 Morality Chip
processingCategory2
Cyberpunk Tropes
 Morality Chip
processingCategory2
Futuristic Tech Index
 Morality Chip
processingCategory2
Morality Tropes
 Morality Chip
processingCategory2
Robot Roll Call
 Morality Chip
processingCategory2
Speculative Fiction Tropes
 Spider-Man and Batman: Disordered Minds (Comic Book) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Transformers: TransTech (Comic Book) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Abraxas (Hrodvitnon) (Fanfic) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Unity (Finmonster) (Fanfic) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Autómata / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 I, Robot / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Spider-Man 2 / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Godclads / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Robbie / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Worm / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 ptitle4mxosoxy
seeAlso
Morality Chip
 MW (Manga) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 SAYER (Podcast) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Blake's 7 / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Chōjinki Metalder / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Knight Rider / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Star Trek: Voyager / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Call of Cthulhu (Tabletop Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Paranoia (Tabletop Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Sentinels of the Multiverse (Tabletop Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Portal (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Portal 2 (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Primordia (2012) (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 RimWorld (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Spellstone (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 System Shock (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 The Red Strings Club (Video Game) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Aventures (Web Video) / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Robotomy / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 A Growing Affection / Fan Fic / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip
 Undocumented Features / Fan Fic / int_926304e4
type
Morality Chip