In this episode of Trekking Through Compliance, we consider episode I, Mudd, which aired on November 3, 1967, and occurred on Star Date 4513.3.
The Enterprise finds Harry Mudd (Harcourt Fenton Mudd) on a planet and the “ruler” of 500 robot women. Mudd is being studied by the robots, who are accommodating but refuse to let him go. The androids tell Kirk people from the Andromeda galaxy built them. However, the civilization that constructed them was destroyed by a supernova, so the androids were left without supervision. Now they have found a new purpose in Mudd. Spock makes inquiries and discovers that there are 207,809 androids and, most importantly, that they seem to be controlled by some central coordinating power.
The robots find people too destructive and plan to take over and “serve” all humans in the galaxy to control them. Kirk leaves Harry on the planet with his attendant robots to serve as an example of human failure to them. The robots are also reprogrammed to carry out their original task of rendering the planet fit for human life. As a final blow to Mr. Mudd, Kirk also leaves behind several android copies of his shrewish wife, Stella.
Compliance Takeaways:
- Why continuous monitoring is a mandatory part of any compliance program.
- Will AI take over compliance? (Answer: No)
- As a CCO, you are only limited by your imagination.
Resources
Excruciatingly Detailed Plot Summary by Eric W. Weisstein
MissionLogPodcast.com
Memory Alpha
