Something interesting to think about

[ShaneEnochs]

I've been on a Star Trek DS9 kick for the past week or so, and I just came across an episode where the aliens had a very interesting incarceration method. Instead of building actual prisons and pouring money into them, they hook the criminal up to an artificial reality. An hour in the real world would be like a year in the artificial reality world. When the sentence is over (say 10 years in artificial reality, 10 hours in the real world), the prisoner is set free with the memory of being incarcerated for 10 years. To them, the experience was very real.

Here's my question: if we had this kind of technology, would you support the use of it? Or do you think this kind of thing would fall under "cruel and unusual" punishment?

 

[jkr]

 

[ShaneEnochs]

That's completely different. First of all, those people didn't commit any crime. Secondly, in Minorty Report, the people die in there from what I understand. In what I'm describing, only a few hours would actually pass in the real world. When your sentence is complete, you're as healthy as you were when you went in, and all of the people you love are still the same age.

 

[ShaneEnochs]

Bump

 

[Fermli]

Won't incarceration will be almost nonexistent in an anarchic society? Prisons are the statist way of trying to solve problems.

 

[amy31416]

If we continue to imprison non-violent offenders (excepting thieves), absolutely not.

This whole notion also only works with the assumption that incarceration is a good deterrent and would change the criminal's behavior.

 

[tod evans]

If we/they ever have the ability to manipulate minds to that extent I don't foresee crime as being a problem..

 

[CaptUSA]

If we/they ever have the ability to manipulate minds to that extent I don't foresee crime as being a problem..

Oh, I disagree! Imagine the crimes that would be committed by the mind manipulators!

To the highly implausible specifics of the OP, though, I might even pay money for the opportunity to have 10 extra years of thinking. Imagine how many problems could be worked out. It's funny, you know, when you reach my age, you start thinking in terms of how limited your time is. If I could squeeze 10 years into 10 hours, I might do it a couple of times a week!

 

[tod evans]

Imagine the crimes that would be committed by the mind manipulators!

Aren't we living with this now?

 

[CaptUSA]

Aren't we living with this now?

Yeah. So if they had the ability to manipulate minds to this extent, how could you NOT foresee crimes being a problem? Maybe I'm confused by your other post?

 

[klamath]

No because most of the time it is to protect other members of society from the preditors. The punishment of jail time generally doesn't cure them. So the other member of society would only have a reprieve for a short time from the preditor.

 

[tod evans]

Yeah. So if they had the ability to manipulate minds to this extent, how could you NOT foresee crimes being a problem? Maybe I'm confused by your other post?

It's all circular......whomever is pulling the strings could convince all the drones that everything was hunky-dory..

 

[amy31416]

Oh, I disagree! Imagine the crimes that would be committed by the mind manipulators!

To the highly implausible specifics of the OP, though, I might even pay money for the opportunity to have 10 extra years of thinking. Imagine how many problems could be worked out. It's funny, you know, when you reach my age, you start thinking in terms of how limited your time is. If I could squeeze 10 years into 10 hours, I might do it a couple of times a week!

Very interesting concept--imagine we take our best inventors, scientists, engineers and give them several years (do this when they're around 24-28) to solve various problems. He'd have years of problem-solving while being at his prime, mentally.

 

[VIDEODROME]

I think it would have interesting possibilities by avoiding the flaws of a Brick and Mortar prison life which could more likely make the person come out even worse.


I don't remember this Star Trek episode, but I imagine the possibilities could be something like Total Recall. The premise of Recall is to experience and remember a free roaming fantasy experience based on criteria chosen by the customer.

Instead what if a convict was put into a Recall style experience based on Rehabilitation. I don't think it should be an entirely pleasant experience, but more like a fantasy of living as an aesthetic monk for example. I think there are many scenarios that could be designed around a basic existence that tries to illustrate the benefits of good behavior.

It could include a kind of Karma system. If they're in a fantasy experience living on a Spaceship and they harm a crew member, the Karma system would cause something to happen that requires the skills of that crew member to fix. If they injure the Engineer, then not long after the Karma system running the fantasy would cause a malfunction in the ship systems.

I wouldn't say this has a guarantee of working, but I think it seems a reasonably fair way to demonstrate bad behavior as self defeating.

 

[TheGrinch]

Won't incarceration will be almost nonexistent in an anarchic society? Prisons are the statist way of trying to solve problems.

This idea that violence, crime and greed would cease to exist in a stateless society is just baffling... Not advocating the overreach of our current systemm but I'm entirely curious how you would address things like murder, fraud, etc without a prison system.

 

[TheGrinch]

No because most of the time it is to protect other members of society from the preditors. The punishment of jail time generally doesn't cure them. So the other member of society would only have a reprieve for a short time from the preditor.

Well, there are many reasons for justice, but you hit the nail on the head, that deterrence isn't the lone goal, if it could even be achieved this way (which there is plenty of indication with repeat offenders that it wouldn't in many cases)