Cybernetic enhancement and androids in the Gundam Universe

[orchidal]

In a universe where there is so much technological advancement that interplanetary travel, terraforming/colonization of new worlds, and the ability to create god-sized robotic war machines in man's image and likeness have all been made possible:
why is there hardly any advancement in human cybernetics or artificial intellegence such as androids?






*I should note that I'm not a Gundamaniac -I like my mecha anime more like Dragon's Heaven;
however, I'm aware of most of the series'/ova's plots from reading reviews and such.
I've only seen Endless Waltz and I'm currently watching and enjoying Gundam 0083- it's art style and
color palate is much more appealing and it's characters more mature

[Havoc10K]

the answer is simple, in order to prevent "l, Robot" situation.

[orchidal]

Ah, that's interesting.
Is the issue ever explicitly talked about or explained in any of the Gundam series?

[harlock81]

Gundam wing kinda hit on it a bit with the mobile dolls and then the zero system. Machines controlled by ai have no soul and instinct and are thus inferior to an ace pilot. They may overrun but cant compete in the end. Outside of that i really havent seen it talked about or touched on in the gundam series. But in reality its much easier to create large machines operated by organics than to fuse machines to organic material and interface that way.

[kureshii]

In a universe where there is so much technological advancement that interplanetary travel, terraforming/colonization of new worlds, and the ability to create god-sized robotic war machines in man's image and likeness have all been made possible:
why is there hardly any advancement in human cybernetics or artificial intellegence such as androids?

Addressing only the UC (Universal Century) universe side of things (that includes 0083, but not Gundam Wing, Endless Waltz etc; there's 7 Gundam storyverses in all, for the uninformed), this has been touched on quite a bit, though not always in animated form. The RX-78-2 (i.e. Original Gundam) has a "learning computer" that is able to record and analyse enemy combat behaviour and adjust accordingly. It's not a fully automated AI system, but you can see it being put to good use in one of the last few battles in 0079, where Amuro sets it to autopilot mode as a decoy.

The closest instance to cybernetic enhancement is probably the experimental Cyber-Newtypes —a human-engineered version of Newtypes— first seen in Zeta Gundam. (a somewhat controversial topic I won't try to explain in depth here, see the wiki entry for a quick rundown). Combat-wise, apart from heightened instincts and "sixth-sense", the main difference between Newtypes and 'normal' pilots is their ability to use psycommu systems, which are essentially a remote satellite control system completely controlled by the pilot's thought alone.

Cyber-Newtypes were an attempt to recreate these Newtypes under controlled conditions, but IIRC they were eventually deemed too unstable and uncontrollable (like all experimental beings in anime, heh). Instead, a quasi-psycommu system was developed instead; a psycommu system that could be used by normal humans.

The closest instance to artificial intelligence in UC Gundam is most likely in the form of an AI called ALICE, from Gundam Sentinel, which was released only in photonovel form. I haven't read it in detail yet (good translations are hard to find), but the wiki article should cover it in sufficient detail.

[Samis]

I think the most important part of any Gundam series will always be the "human element", especially in the works created by Tomino-San. In my opinion this is why the franchise hasn't delved too deeply within realms of human cybernetics and androids, not saying that they couldn't do so effectively, as aforementioned there have been quite a few instances involving A.I. within various Gundam installations.

In general the Gundam franchise seems to focus more on advancements made in the fields of human biological sciences, genetics, and the interactive interfacing of humans and machinery through mobile suit O.S./weapon systems (e.g. Extended, Coordinators, Innovators, Newtypes, Zero System, Flash System etc).

Anyway, it would be awesome to see an animated version of the Gundam Sentinel novel that kureshii spotlighted, or perhaps a new series revolving around a cyborg or android pilot.

[orchidal]

Thanks for the thorough info, everyone. It's truly educational.
I'd also like to see an ova that directly addresses AI
it could challenge the human element of warfare- rendering it almost meaningless
or even turn into an "I robot" problem at some point
but I also understand that the stories meaning is focused through a different channel

Right now I'm watching Lieutenant South Burning of Stardust Memory wearing a cast on his leg and waiting in anguish as it heals - while I do think that that makes his character more interesting, I'm also wishing that we could have seen some doctor-on-board opt to lop it off  
and replace it with a shinier robotic leg- and where's Kelly the one-armed-junk-farmer's T-1000 replacement arm?

*I am starting to get into this more realistic Gundam scifi, though
I think I'm going to check out 08 ms team next.

[Ixarku]

Stardust Memory was one of the first OVAs I ever saw... that, and Record of Lodoss War were the two biggest things that really got me interested in fansubbed animes years ago.

I haven't really watched any non-UC Gundams, but I still think Stardust Memory is a great show to introduce Gundam to non-fans.

[orchidal]

I'd agree, despite reviewers' warnings that someone relatively new/unfamiliar with Gundam would be completely lost.
The story's not rocket science, but I do understand that much of impact of and cause/effect relationships of events cannot be appreciated without some Gundam knowledge.

For me it was the mechanical designs and minute details of the various technology that had me hooked. I only wish they'd developed Cima's character a bit more -she had so much potential.