I SENSE A LURKING, SCARY PROBLEM
I Put This on a Disqus "Discussion"
(sort of like a sub-Reddit)
Cyber Reality Getting Ahead of Cyber Sci-Fi?
"Taming the Monsters of Tomorrow" Isn't that a great title? It's in 12 January edition of Science Magazine as one of their pieces memorializing the 200th anniversary of Mary Shelly's 1818 blockbuster Frankenstein.. We (readers of this "Sci-Fi Channel" on disqus) know a lot about the 'monsters of tomorrow' because that's how we roll. We savored Hal. Skynet is burned into our consciousness. We hear Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking warning of rogue AI super intelligences deciding humans are superfluous. We grok the Bladerunners. We hear from most sentient people about the dangers of autonomous weapons. Futures from the world's sci-fi geniuses and other hard knuckle futurists are knock, knock, knocking on what's coming's door.
BUT... There is something in the air - the ether, the cybersphere, that hints strongly of unpredicted developments. I'm not sure what it is, even though I'm a heckuva predictor. Maybe it's what all the "silos" of interest segments are doing to society. Maybe the world is getting Balkanized by sub-Reddits. Maybe nothing will ever be private again. Maybe money is speech. Maybe the psychology of persuasion is toxic. It's all on the Internet, and the inevitable Supernet is on the horizon.
Already people, institutions and governments from everywhere are everywhere. There are no strong borders in the cybersphere, mostly no borders at all. Our enemies and our friends are all over us like mosquitoes on a hot Texas dusk. They are in your Twitter feed, your Facebook pages, your Instagrams and favorite Disqus discussions. They write many of the comments in the "Comments" sections of your favorite news and opinion sites. They sell you things on Amazon and the auction sites. They traffic in your financial data stolen from Equifax.
Maybe William Gibson saw where this is going some time back, I'm not sure. Has sci-fi got it covered, or are we on the cusp of some cyber mutual catalyst that will make us forget rock and roll?
BUT... There is something in the air - the ether, the cybersphere, that hints strongly of unpredicted developments. I'm not sure what it is, even though I'm a heckuva predictor. Maybe it's what all the "silos" of interest segments are doing to society. Maybe the world is getting Balkanized by sub-Reddits. Maybe nothing will ever be private again. Maybe money is speech. Maybe the psychology of persuasion is toxic. It's all on the Internet, and the inevitable Supernet is on the horizon.
Already people, institutions and governments from everywhere are everywhere. There are no strong borders in the cybersphere, mostly no borders at all. Our enemies and our friends are all over us like mosquitoes on a hot Texas dusk. They are in your Twitter feed, your Facebook pages, your Instagrams and favorite Disqus discussions. They write many of the comments in the "Comments" sections of your favorite news and opinion sites. They sell you things on Amazon and the auction sites. They traffic in your financial data stolen from Equifax.
Maybe William Gibson saw where this is going some time back, I'm not sure. Has sci-fi got it covered, or are we on the cusp of some cyber mutual catalyst that will make us forget rock and roll?
Then I found one expert's same concern, but far better articulated. EEEEK!
THE INFOCALYPSE IS COMING!!
CHECK IT OUT HERE.
Leading me back to an earlier "prediction," which I am now upgrading to an Advocacy
WE need digital certificates of identification. Companies need them, political ads need them. Otherwise we will never know what the truth really is or even who's lying to us.
pix credit
My Path of Discovery
CLICK 'EM AND WEEP
pix credit
My Path of Discovery
CLICK 'EM AND WEEP
Comments