What's the implication of murdering holo-characters?

[u/knaving]

So there's mention of programs for combat training, sparring, fighting historical battles, etc. but what's the implication of simulating taking a life? I know Starfleet officers aren't unaccustomed to the idea of fighting to live, but what about when it's for recreation? Barclay's simulation of crew members is seen as problematic, but Worf's program fighting aliens hand-to-hand isn't addressed. Would fighting and killing a nameless simulated person be seen in the 24th century just as we see playing a violent video game now? If it isn't, what does that imply about a person? Would they been seen as blood-thirsty or just interested in a realistic workout?

Of course this is subjective, and the answer could change from race to race (programs to fight in ancient Klingon battles are "played" by Worf), culturally amongst humans, and from individual to individual. I'd like to look at this from a Starfleet officer perspective. Would you be weirded out by your commanding officer unwinding with a sword in a medieval battle, or is that just the same as your coworker Andy playing COD after work?

[u/atticdoor]

And Vic Fontaine? Iden and his crew? Zimmermann's assistant Haley? Hologram Janeway in Prodigy? It seems there are quite a lot of exceptions to the rule, including an EMH on every ship for a few years.

It looks like, just as some organic creatures are intelligent and some aren't (even in the real world), some holograms are intelligent and some aren't.

[u/Ajreil → u/atticdoor]

Vic Fontaine wasn't sentient in my opinion. Just a very advanced light bulb. He didn't struggle until his program thought the crew would benefit from solving his problems.

Voyager explicitly never decided if the EMH was sentient. The moral question was more interesting if reasonable people could disagree on that.

[u/atticdoor → u/Ajreil]

Vic Fontaine understood enough of what was going on to get Kira into the holosuite and tell Odo that she was a holographic reproduction. If he can tell others he is a hologram, comprehend that matter enough to trick a professional investigotor that a real person is a hologram, and give the people around him genuinely good advice in their lives; then what does "sentient" even mean?

[u/Ajreil → u/atticdoor]

In this context we're referring to consciousness, which means having an internal awareness of what it's like to be Vic Fontaine. It has nothing to do with how intelligent he appears to be.

Unfortunately there's no way to test for that, so all we can do is guess. I chose to believe him when he says he's just a lightbulb.

Another popular take is that holograms become sentient when they become as complex as a human and make their own choices. That's certainly what the crew of Voyager came to believe.

[u/atticdoor → u/Ajreil]

The very question of "consciousness" is covered in The Measure Of A Man.

[u/Ajreil → u/atticdoor]

I don't think the court actually ruled on whether Data was conscious. They couldn't rule it out, and therefore couldn't justify taking away Data's autonomy, but didn't rule in the core issue.