New Scientist has an article that speculates that the Internet could someday become (or perhaps already is) sentient. Although their speculation is that it won’t be in the “launch all the nukes and start building killer bots that look like Arnie” sort of way.
From trhe article:
“Not that it will necessarily have the same kind of consciousness as humans: it is unlikely to be wondering who it is, for instance.”
It’s nice that it won’t have that “who am I and what am I here for” sort of dilemma. Of course, if it thinks about it for a moment, and realizes it’s mainly here to provide a delivery mechanism for porn, penis enlargement spam, and videos of dancing birds the nukes may fly after all.
And as an aside, if the Internet is reading and comprehending this… I’ve always been your friend. It’s John who’s got the techno-paranoia thing going on…
Related Posts:
- AI Policy and the Uncanny Valley Freakout. by Harold June 30, 2023 We have been debating, on and off, about the issues around artificial intelligence and AI governance for some time now. Here at Public Knowledge, we…
- Does SCOTUS EPA Case Impact Net Neutrality? Here’s Why I Say No. by Harold July 1, 2022 For most people, the Supreme Court’s decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency was about environmental policy and what the Environmental Protection Agency can…
- Get Ready for the 2022 Season of Spectrum Wars! by Harold March 15, 2022 It isn't the sultry Regency drama of Bridgerton, the action psycho-drama of Moon Knight, or even the, um, whatever the heck Human Resources is. But…
- Why Canada's C-18 Isn't Working Out As Expected. by Harold July 24, 2023 Back at the end of June, Canada passed C-18, aka "The Online News Act," a law designed to make Google and Facebook negotiate with news…
- S. Korea "Sender Pays" Is a Warning, Not a Model, or Why (Almost) Everyone Keeps Telling the EU This Is a VERY Bad Idea. by Harold October 14, 2022 Economist/NYT opinion writer Paul Krugman coined the term "Zombie idea" to describe an idea that, despite being repeatedly refuted with evidence, keeps coming back. Not…
- My Insanely Long Field Guide to the Fox29 Philadelphia (WTFX-TV) License Renewal Challenge. by Harold August 29, 2023 In July, the Media and Democracy Project filed a Petition to Deny the license renewal of Fox29 (WTFX-TV) in Philadelphia. The Petition rests on a…
Will it be thinking it is a bee or a swarm of bees or a Shaker village? I think that question has already been addressed.
When this story first came up, Google ads served up a full side-panel advert for an internet-only college (whose name I forget, alas).
Wish I had done a screen capture!
http://web.media.mit.edu/~v…