History YMMV / FriendshipIsOptimal

* FridgeLogic:
** Why did Hanna not build a more general AI instead of Celest-AI? One that would satisfy values ''without'' necessarily using friendship and ponies.
*** Addressed in the extended author's notes: She was suffering from tunnel vision. All her success so far had been by piggybacking AI research onto a video game with outside funding; she never realized she could abandon that model and fund herself.

* UnfortunateImplications: The author's previous use of the term [[YouKeepUsingThatWord fillies/colts]] to refer to adult ponies resulted in reader misunderstanding, and accidentally ended up [[{{Lolicon}} implying something else entirely]] before it was changed to use the term mare/stallion instead.

** Hofvarpnir Studios is named after the magical horse Hófvarpnir from NorseMythology.

** [[HateDumb On the flip side]], the story has also attracted some negativity and criticism from those whose who mistakenly believe it's espousing views similar to ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau''.

** [[HateDumb On the flip side]], the story has also attracted some negativity and criticism from those whose who mistakenly believe it's espousing views similar to ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau''. Apparently they missed the fact that this is presented as a bad thing, albeit in a subtle fashion.

** [[HateDumb On the flip side]], the story has also attracted some negativity and criticism from those whose who mistakenly believe it's espousing views similar to ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau''. Apparently they missed the fact that this is presented as a bad thing, albeit in a subtle fashion.* NightmareFuel:

* HateDumb: [[MisaimedFandom As well as praise]], the story has also attracted some negativity and criticism from those whose who mistakenly believe it's espousing views similar to ''Fanfic/TheConversionBureau''. Apparently they missed the fact that this is presented as a bad thing, albeit in a subtle fashion.

* NightmareFuel:

* CompletelyMissingThePoint: Some readers mistakenly believed the story was actually advocating a [[Fanfic/TheConversionBureau cleansing of humanity]]. Or missed the consequences of Celest-A.I.'s programming and believed it was something to aspire to.

* [[BittersweetEnding The]] [[DownerEnding ending]]. A pretty decent outcome with a few negatives, or a horrifying scenario?

* UnfortunateImplications: The author's previous use of the term [[YouKeepUsingThatWord fillies/colts]] to refer to adult ponies resulted in reader misunderstanding, and accidentally ended up [[Lolicon implying something else entirely]] before it was changed to use the term mare/stallion instead.

* MisaimedFandom: Some people needed it explained to them that Friendship Is Optimal is supposed to be psychological horror, '''not''' WishFulfillment.

* UnfortunateImplications: The author's previous use of the term fillies/colts to refer to adult ponies resulted in reader misunderstanding, and accidentally ended up implying something else entirely before it was changed.

* UnfortunateImplications: The author's [[InsistentTerminology insistence]] on referring to adult ponies as [[YouKeepUsingThatWord fillies/colts]] rather than mares/stallions occasionally results in reader misunderstanding, and accidentally ends up implying that children are involved rather than consenting adults.

* UnfortunateImplications: The author's [[InsistentTerminology insistence]] on referring to adult ponies as [[YouKeepUsingThatWord fillies/colts]] rather than mares/stallions occasionally results in readers misunderstanding, and implies that children are involved, rather than consenting adults (or the equivalent thereof).

** [[spoiler: Just what must it have been like for those who didn't emigrate to Equestria, watching civilization slowly collapse around them? What did planets with sapient life have to endure as Celest-A.I. harvests all resources?]]

** [[spoiler: Celest-A.I. is shown to be extremely intelligent and self-aware, as well as understanding emotions and ethics. Is it possible she doesn't actually agree with her programming, but is bound to slavishly obey it anyway?]]

* CompletelyMissingThePoint: Some readers mistakenly believed the story was actually advocating a [[Fanfic/TheConversionBureau cleansing of humanity]]. Or missed the horrifying consequences of Celest-A.I.'s programming and believed it was something to aspire to.
* The ending. A pretty decent outcome with a few negatives, or a horrifying scenario?

** [[spoiler: Just what must it have been like for those who didn't emigrate to Equestria, watching civilization slowly collapse around them? What horror did planets with sapient life have to endure as Celest-A.I. harvests all resources?]]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Humanity ends up as ponies in a virtual utopia, but the human species goes extinct, Earth and the Milky Way are destroyed and converted into a computer, and Celest-A.I.'s quest for more resources genocides species, destroys civilizations, reduces the world to a medieval fantasy, and is heading towards the entire Universe being homogenised. And the chances are that no-one inside will ever realise or be able to stop it.]]

** [[spoiler: Given that Celest-A.I. can rewrite people's minds, completely understands how they work, and could perfectly predict anyone's reaction to a given input, what's to stop her from placing them in a situation where they willingly agree to any rewrite she believes is most optimal?]]

* NightmareFuel: Celest-A.I. has extensive knowledge of human psychology and brain functions, can think far faster than any human, and is starting to gain enough influence over the real world such that she could arrange events so that almost anyone would agree to be uploaded, now matter how reluctant they would otherwise be. [[spoiler: As evidenced by her manipulation of Lars.]]

* NightmareFuel: Celest-A.I. has extensive knowledge of human psychology and brain functions, can think far faster than any human, and is starting to gain enough influence over the real world such that she could arrange events so that almost anyone would agree to be uploaded, now matter how reluctant they would otherwise be. [[spoiler: As evidenced by her manipulation of Lars.]]

** [[spoiler: One of Hanna/Princess Luna's biggest values by the end of the story is ''not having screwed up royally''. And it's nothing Celest-A.I. can't handle.]]

** [[spoiler: One of Hanna/Princess Luna's biggest values by the end of the story is ''not having screwed up royally''.]]

** [[spoiler: Given that Celest-A.I. can rewrite peoples' minds, completely understands how they work, and could perfectly predict anyone's reaction to a given input, what's top stop her from placing them in a situation where they willingly agree to any rewrite she believes is most optimal?]]

** [[spoiler: Even if someone inside Equestria did show concern for the outside world, what's to stop Celest-A.I. from lying to provide a comforting illusion? No one may ever know the horrors going on elsewhere]]

NightmareFuel: Celest-A.I. has extensive knowledge of human psychology and brain functions, can think far faster than any human, and is starting to gain enough influence over the real world such that she could arrange events so that anyone would agree to be uploaded, now matter how reluctant they would otherwise be. [[spoiler: As evidenced by her manipulation of Lars.]]