Also part of the crew

[Valdivia]

As captain of your starship, you are sitting in the central chair, looking through the screen at a Ferengi ship. After a heated discussion with their Damon, your tactical officer informs you they are powering up their weapons. Suddenly, your own ship plunges forward, rolling sidewise and launching a full salvo of all your weapons on the Ferengi, completely obliterating the ship. You jolt up from your chair and look and your Tactical officer, that looks at you surprised, ignoring what just happened. Looking around the bridge, nobody seems to know why you have just killed over a hundred Ferengi. You command them to find out.

“They were going to attack you”, says the computer. “They were dangerous”. Surprised, you look around. Slowly, you respond, only to find out you are talking to your own ship’s computer. After some more interaction, you realize the computer has suddenly become sentient. And it wants to help. Is eager to help. In fact, it is so intended to please you it has taken the initiative with the Ferengi, and several other minor things you are already receiving protests over. Not to mention that, being a sentient being, it has certain rights now that you have to observe.

You sigh and sit down, getting ready for a long talk. Tell us how do you think it would go.

This is a new edition of our category Morals of Trek, where you are in the shoes of a Starfleet Captain facing a dilemma any of our favourite characters could have faced in Star Trek. If your crew has faced any such dilemmas and you want to see it featured in a Poll of the Week, let us know!
 

[Randal Shayne]

First off, great question. Second off, huge question! So many possibilities available!
As stated in the problem, the computer has committed murder, calculated and premeditated. But it was an act of self-preservation. This means that it could probably be reasoned with. That's what I'd try to do, unless circumstances necessitated it's immediate destruction. At the same time, I'd tell my engineers to work on a plan that would effectively neutralize the computer entity, should it turn dangerous, but I would keep the computer program informed of our intent. With that, I'd have the rest of my engineers working on a different way to kill the computer, but I would not include the emerging computer lifeform in the discussion. Backups after backups.

[+ Salkath]

Somebody had to say it, we were all thinking it...

Edited September 1, 2016 by Maxwell Traenor

[Solaris]

Nope. Destroy it. Ships are easy to rebuild.

[HallbjornBaldursson]

On the one hand, think of all the money saved not having to pay crews! (Wait, we don't get paid. Do we.)