NCIS Season 23 introduced and eventually abandoned one of the team's newest members in one of its most recent episodes. The current core team of agents in NCIS is primarily composed of four field agents: Alden Parker, Timothy McGee, Nick Torres, and Jessica Knight, alongside Chief Medical Examiner Jimmy Palmer and Forensic Scientist Kasie Hines. They are all led by NCIS director Leon Vance, and the team has been together for several years with no new members joining its ranks
Still, in previous seasons, there were notable guest stars who helped the team solve their cases, such as night shift NCIS agent Dale Sawyer and, most recently, Navy Vice Admiral Harriet Parker (Agent Parker's estranged sister). NCIS Season 23's new episode, though, made an unexpected change in the core team's lineup by introducing an intriguing new addition to the team.
Why Did NCIS Abandon Its Newest Team Member in Season 23?
NCIS Season 23, Episode 8 confirmed that the team has a new member in the form of an AI chatbot that will assist them with cases moving forward. As Director Vance explained, this AI device is part of the Department of Justice's efforts to "help find ways to increase investigative efficiency," with Jimmy Palmer being tasked with monitoring the device.
However, throughout the episode, the AI chatbot (named DAWN, which stands for Data Assisted Workflow Navigator) has caused some "expected" issues for the team, despite starting on a positive note with its efficient strategies for case resolution. As NCIS Agent Jessica Knight pointed out, everyone will have a problem with the device once it crosses the line of telling them how to do their job.
Given that Jimmy was assigned to be its partner, his closeness with DAWN made him reflect on his personal issues, such as his breakup with Knight. The AI device also criticized Jimmy's handling of the case as a medical examiner, such as his work rituals, which DAWN pointed out as inefficient. Despite that, Jimmy was able to prove that his rituals were needed to deliver respect to the countless dead bodies he was handling, which an AI would never understand.
Eventually, NCIS abandoned DAWN as the team's newest member because of a combination of factors, such as its troublesome monitoring of private conversations among agents (not related to the case), not understanding how human emotions work, not relying on the agents' expertise with the investigative process, and solely focusing on the AI's capabilities.
As Jimmy pointed out in his final monologue, robots are indeed designed to save time, but "being human isn't about saving it, [instead] it's about how we spend it." Ultimately, real breakthroughs during investigations happen when the team is in sync and not deliberated by an AI or its code.
Is Abandoning DAWN the Right Move for NCIS?
In the age of social media and instant information, having an AI chatbot as part of the NCIS team would've been greatly helpful in terms of solving complex cases. However, this latest episode proved that human connection still reigns supreme, and the efficiency of having an AI device by their side could lead to disastrous outcomes that would break the team.
NCIS managed to deliver a strong message that AI can never replace humans, especially in jobs that consistently involve life-and-death situations. For example, DAWN's inclusion sometimes disrupted the team's free-flowing conversations, affecting their momentum in solving the case.
Although the AI's primary purpose is to introduce efficient methods for improving the team's chances of solving the case, it is a one-way street for the machine. As for the team, though, they think outside the box, which usually leads to better results, even if they can be less efficient (but that's part of being human).
At the end of the day, NCIS demonstrates that AI is a powerful yet dangerous tool, but humans remain the best option for investigative jobs because they can adapt on the fly and create solutions that work for everyone.
