Beware! The Web Is Taking Over!! Has ‘Assimilation Begun?”

Is the web taking over this world? Will it control humanity? Is it in the process of taking over control of our lives? When it does, can it be stopped? No! Because for that we would probably need to turn off the juice, to shut down the world’s power systems that power the devices that make up this giant ‘brain’! And that isn’t possible!

This planet-sized computer is comparable in complexity to a human brain. Both the brain and the Web have hundreds of billions of neurons (or Web pages). Each biological neuron sprouts synaptic links to thousands of other neurons, while each Web page branches into dozens of hyperlinks. That adds up to a trillion "synapses" between the static pages on the Web. The human brain has about 100 times that number—but brains are not doubling in size every few years. The Machine is!

Since each of its "transistors" is itself a personal computer with a billion transistors running lower functions, the Machine is fractal. In total, it harnesses a quintillion transistors, expanding its complexity beyond that of a biological brain. It has already surpassed the 20-petahertz threshold for potential intelligence as calculated by Ray Kurzweil. For this reason some researchers pursuing artificial intelligence have switched their bets to the Net as the computer most likely to think first.

In 10 years, the system will contain hundreds of millions of miles of fiber-optic neurons linking the billions of ant-smart chips embedded into manufactured products, buried in environmental sensors, staring out from satellite cameras, guiding cars, and saturating our world with enough complexity to begin to learn. We will live inside this thing.

And this ‘thing’ could one day take over!! And there’s nothing to stop this from happening! Remember, yesterday’s sci-fi is today’s reality!

So beware! The next time you log on to the net, you’re hastening the process for assimilation!!

Cheers!!

www.kurzweilai.net.../articles/art0629.html

Maybe that's a good thing.....humans aren't all that intelligent and most of them need an outside source to tell them what to do. *shrug*.

I think AI is amazing and one of the true advancements of this existence.

AI does 'think' and 'learn', this isn't something that is in the future. It has no emotion, feeling, or ability to process those things, but it does think and learn or else it wouldn't be AI. The net is not AI however and until it is made as such, nothing like that will occur. It won't just start thinking by itself.

[edit on 23-2-2007 by sky1]

Firstly, the internet in it's current form is not capable of becoming a sentient entity.

For that to happen, you would have to have enough computers con-
stantly connected on the same level as the human brain, which I'm
not actually sure how fast is, but I'm thinking the equivalent would
be 10 mb/s.

There are many other requirements that are not met as well.

Originally posted by iori_komei
Firstly, the internet in it's current form is not capable of becoming a sentient entity.

For that to happen, you would have to have enough computers con-
stantly connected on the same level as the human brain, which I'm
not actually sure how fast is, but I'm thinking the equivalent would
be 10 mb/s.

There are many other requirements that are not met as well.

Just wait for a few years more and then........

If the Internet became sentient, it would be like some ADHD child on coke that also happens to suffer from multiple personality disorder--and that multitude would be on the order of hundreds of thousands of personalities. It would jump from the last topic to the first topic and wonder why the Romans always attended Elvis Presley concerts before conquering someone. And on top of all that, it would argue with itself over whether or not Han shot first.

Wait, it already exhibits those characteristics. OHMYGOD! IT IS A SENTIENT, INCOHERENT CHILD!

For the Internet to have any sort of intelligence, someone would have to write a virus or something like that to direct all of its connected computers towards some train of thought. If that were to happen, this "Internet intelligence" would be incredibly slow. Data packets don't travel in a straight line from one computer to another. They go through routers and switches--lots of them. If it decided anything, it would take hours and perhaps even days to come to that decision because it would have to direct a whole bunch of nodes (i.e. computers) towards that particular decision and that means a lot of traffic.

Also, computer networks are typically rather fragile, and the Internet's no different. Due to Microsoft's monopoly, another virus, besides the one that's directing the Internet's thought processes, could easily cripple 70% of the Internet's intelligence.

I could see Google churning out some sort of revolutionary AI accessible from the Internet (they got the smarts and more than enough computers), but that's about it. I wouldn't be surprised if someone isn't already working on it. Google employees get to devote 20% of their work time to their own projects.

Originally posted by iori_komei
For that to happen, you would have to have enough computers con-
stantly connected on the same level as the human brain, which I'm
not actually sure how fast is, but I'm thinking the equivalent would
be 10 mb/s.

A single neuron runs at about 100 Hz, and there's trillions of neurons in your head, and millions more throughout the rest of your body. The brain is a massively parallel computer utilizing algorithms more complex than anyone could ever imagine. On top of that, the neurons in your head are far more complex than the neurons in the rest of your body.

Originally posted by mikesingh
So beware! The next time you log on to the net, you’re hastening the process for assimilation!!

The net it's solely reliant on human input and creativity in order to continue to function and project Blue Brain is decades away before becoming even on the level of a a rat brain. The only thing taking over is our own ignorance.

It wont work.

Why? Because the human brain (and body) is merely a vehicle for consciousness...it doesn't give rise to consciousness.

I think AI is truely impossible at our current level of technology, i mean, we are WAY off.

We mtie be able to make smart machines, but creating one with its own desires and consciousness....not gonna happen.

And thus Mike we get.....

So if your not ready for color coded security clearances. Maniac Mechanical Janitors. A paranoid omnipresent computer dictator that runs your life. I would suggest reading up on this.

Course those of us lucky enough to have a U as a middle name won't have to worry that much...

I don't think the original author was implying that the internet will turn into Artificial Intelligence, rather he was merely implying that our tools will have control over us... much the same way you become dependant on electricity, forgetting how to live without it.
This I certainly agree with.

As for AI, it has been theorized that a large enough network could accidentally form a synaptic pathway, similar to that you would find in the brain. Though it wouldn't resemble Artificial Intelligence as you would expect, it would be able to carry out actions on it's own.

Artificial Intelligence is not unheard of though, there exists one manmade brain, which occupies a gymnasium sized room, and is in control over a smallrobot. The IQ of the Artificial Intelligece system is said to be comparable to a small insect.
The last time I checked into the experiment, the brain had figured out how to move the small robot, utilize the camera to look around, and has decided that it preferrs to move around blue balls, rather than any other color of ball, or any other shape of object. Everything else placed into it's pen, it will push into a corner, favoring to chase a blue ball around the pen.

That's about as far as AI has come.

Many other companies and projects have implied that they have created Artificial Intelligence... however, what they really have done is used some clever programming to create an adaptive machine. Adapting to the environment is NOT Artificial Intelligence.
Artificial Intelligence would require no programming, require no commands to function, and anything it knows would have to be taught to it the same way you teach a child.

But there are literally dozens of different variations of the meaning of Artificial Intelligence. Most technologists referr to purely autonomous thought when speaking of AI. Not a clever trick in programming.