On the Holodeck

Who wouldn’t want their own holodeck? A room where anything seems possible. Detective adventures, spy stories, poker rounds with Stephen Hawking, Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein in the 24th century.

But what happens when a character on the holodeck develops his own consciousness and makes demands? Moriarty, programmed for Data as an equal opponent by Geordi La Forge, breaks through the boundaries of the holodeck and takes control of the Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. But also in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Vic Fontaine, a hologram, leads a life of its own in Quark’s holosuites and in Star Trek: Voyager, with the doctor’s medical-holographic emergency program, even turns a virtual person into a full-fledged crew member, who, thanks to a mobile emitter, can even gain experience outside his original area of operation, the sickbay.

But it’s not only here that the limits of the system are revealed; elsewhere, too, it is shown how holodecks and holosuites work, but the question is also raised: How intelligent can holoprograms be made and what are the consequences? The lecture On the Holodeck will be presented at FedCon 29 by Dr. Rebecca Haar.