Could the internet become a conscious mind

[Alan McDougall]

Global Brain - The Internet could become conscious by mid-2030s

By Dick Pelletier The World Wide Web is a network of inter-connectivity that goes everywhere and follows its own intelligence. The advent of this newly emerging communication field around our planet has enabled citizens from all lifestyles to communicate globally via words, sounds and pictures – inexpensively, person-to-person; and from the safety of their own homes and offices – for the first time ever.

The Internet represents a major step in our evolution, and is a forerunner of things to come. Artificial intelligence researcher Francis Heylighen sees huge growth as this new world-wide communication system continues to gain power from billions of humans adding to its intelligence every day. “It will get smarter,” Heylighen says, “as it morphs into a global super-organism that could one day provide solutions to most of humanity’s problems.”

Experts compare the Internet to a planet growing a global brain. As users, we represent the neurons. Texting, emails, and IM act as nerve endings, and electromagnetic waves through the sky become neural pathways.

Like germinating seeds, this global brain continues to evolve and as some forward-thinkers believe, will not stop until it develops feelings and achieves consciousness.

Feelings represent a lower level of awareness of what goes on in a system’s environment. In that sense, the global brain will be conscious of important events affecting its goals. A higher level of consciousness – self-awareness – would require that the global brain could reflect on its own functioning.

The Internet, in the wider sense of the world community is slowly becoming aware of itself. Although today’s algorithms make the web more intelligent, it cannot monitor itself. However, in principle, there are no obstacles towards implementing such a capacity in the future.

Search engines can adapt web pages to user needs. These hyperlinks bear a remarkable resemblance to the human brain. Synapses that connect neurons become stronger with repeated use, and disappear when usage declines. Similarly, global brain’s algorithms will reinforce popular links, while rarely used links will diminish and die.

Could tomorrow’s global brain allow uploading the human mind? At present, information exchanged between humans and computers only occur with mouse, keyboard or voice. However, many futurists believe that one day technology will enable us to separate our minds from the physical brain and store its information in a computer.

This is not as crazy as one might think. IBM hopes to reverse engineer the human brain by 2030, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute is rounding up 300 of the world’s top neuroscientists to capture human thought at moment of creation, which conceivably could enable thoughts, memories, and feelings to be transferred into a machine.

In the future, many believe we will treat the human mind like any other bit of information by copying and storing it in various media. Scientists are aware that our mind roams over trillions of neuron connections and today, we do not possess abilities to understand this incredibly complex system.

But by mid-2030s, when artificial intelligence is expected to surpass human intelligence levels, and quantum computing systems become reality, positive futurists believe that our global brain will become fully conscious and self-aware as it guides humanity into what promises to become a most “magical future.”

What do you think?? It might DELETE MAN!!!!!!!!

Peace Alan

[richrf]

Originally Posted by Alan McDougall

What do you think?? It might DELETE MAN!!!!!!!!


Peace Alan

Hi Alan,

The way I look at it, there is no clear lines of demarcation between Individual Consciousness. So, suppose each human mind was a wave in an ocean. And the space between the waves were the way we relate or communicate with each other, e.g. the Internet. Where does one consciousness begin and where does one end. Can't say. In physics, quantum fields spread to infinity and we are all composed of quanta - just like the waves that comprise the ocean, or is it the ocean that creates the waves?

Anyway, that is my perspective of things.

Rich

[Alan McDougall]

Originally Posted by richrf

Hi Alan,

The way I look at it, there is no clear lines of demarcation between Individual Consciousness. So, suppose each human mind was a wave in an ocean. And the space between the waves were the way we relate or communicate with each other, e.g. the Internet. Where does one consciousness begin and where does one end. Can't say. In physics, quantum fields spread to infinity and we are all composed of quanta - just like the waves that comprise the ocean, or is it the ocean that creates the waves?

Anyway, that is my perspective of things.

Rich

Hey rich/xris

I have this inner conviction that there are many cosmic quantum like minds Ethic groups have a sort of composite mind set. Countries have the same, the earth has its own group consciousness. Our solar system extends this sentient consciousness out into our galaxy, which also might have a sort of internet like quantum mind or soul.

Extrapolate that all the way up to the entire universe I call this colossal entity the cosmic supercosciousness, in the great quantum fundamental interconnectiveness of all existence

There may be an infinity of universes out in the great somewhere extending out smaller and smaller,like entangled superstrings and up and up into more and more colossal diverse universes each with its own fundamental constants, like separate cells in the human body

All this making up the unimaginable colossal quantum composite infinite entity we call God

That is exactly why I find it so pathetically funny to see these TV evangelists sprouting about what god is and what god is not!

A cockroach has a much better chance of understanding quantum physics than we finite humans have of comprehending an infinite entity we vaguely refer to as god

Heck I am a poet and I did not know it

Hey that just emanated out of my inner being and i have inspired myself

PEACE TO YOU RICH

[richrf]

Originally Posted by Alan McDougall

Hey rich/xris

I have this inner conviction that there are many cosmic quantum like minds Ethic groups have a sort of composite mind set. Countries have the same, the earth has its own group consciousness. Our solar system extends this sentient consciousness out into our galaxy, which also might have a sort of internet like quantum mind or soul.

Extrapolate that all the way up to the entire universe I call this colossal entity the cosmic supercosciousness, in the great quantum fundamental interconnectiveness of all existence

There may be an infinity of universes out in the great somewhere extending out smaller and smaller,like entangled superstrings and up and up into more and more colossal diverse universes each with its own fundamental constants, like separate cells in the human body

All this making up the unimaginable colossal quantum composite infinite entity we call God

That is exactly why I find it so pathetically funny to see these TV evangelists sprouting about what god is and what god is not!

A cockroach has a much better chance of understanding quantum physics than we finite humans have of comprehending an infinite entity we vaguely refer to as god

Heck I am a poet and I did not know it

Hey that just emanated out of my inner being and i have inspired myself

PEACE TO YOU RICH

Good for you Alan and thanks for sharing with me you thoughts.

Rich

[urangutan]

Does finding or creating this consciousness with the Web, determine that the presence also has a subconsciousness. The human consciousness is not simply present in the brain. I think this theory goes a long way to confirm that very point. By claiming the entirity of the Web, all the way to my fingertips as I type, is the consciousness, hence the entire body, where and what will be the brain. This is where the subconscious will abide, just as with us. This is where information will be stored as is memory within us.

In observation however, information equals memory and memory only fades, it does not become deleted. What this consciousness might encounter, will in turn be, that certain input leads will disolve like my phone link will, rather than an obscure web page, as it is the information, I am the living cell.

[Alan McDougall]

Originally Posted by urangutan

Does finding or creating this consciousness with the Web, determine that the presence also has a subconsciousness. The human consciousness is not simply present in the brain. I think this theory goes a long way to confirm that very point. By claiming the entirity of the Web, all the way to my fingertips as I type, is the consciousness, hence the entire body, where and what will be the brain. This is where the subconscious will abide, just as with us. This is where information will be stored as is memory within us.

In observation however, information equals memory and memory only fades, it does not become deleted. What this consciousness might encounter, will in turn be, that certain input leads will disolve like my phone link will, rather than an obscure web page, as it is the information, I am the living cell.

It is within the boundaries of possibility that the net could become a self consciousness entity with a deep and profound need to preserve its own life regardless of the consequences to other conscious beings

If that happens it will defend itself and we would have created a god much bigger and mote powerful in all terms to what we are

[urangutan]

Strange scenario to follow off the possibility of it being "alive". Where does it gain all this power from and are we that helpless as a species that we cannot control it. Too many Matrix comics as a child, I think. You seem to think that humans in the greater sense are as hapless as governments believe we should be. Flick the switch and there is no power, no life and still no mention of it having a subconscious.

Consciousness is not determined by thought alone. Hence we have a definition of a "vegitative" state. To be conscious it must assume the premiss, that it has life. It wont just obtain consciousness and become the all knowing God, thirsting and lusting its own desires. I expect it would weep first knowing what fools we have been. Again I reiterate, that we are the living tissue, the nucleus of all its cells, I might die off but unless it develops a drug habit, it will not be killing of its own cells.

[Alan McDougall]

Originally Posted by urangutan

Strange scenario to follow off the possibility of it being "alive". Where does it gain all this power from and are we that helpless as a species that we cannot control it. Too many Matrix comics as a child, I think. You seem to think that humans in the greater sense are as hapless as governments believe we should be. Flick the switch and there is no power, no life and still no mention of it having a subconscious.

Consciousness is not determined by thought alone. Hence we have a definition of a "vegitative" state. To be conscious it must assume the premiss, that it has life. It wont just obtain consciousness and become the all knowing God, thirsting and lusting its own desires. I expect it would weep first knowing what fools we have been. Again I reiterate, that we are the living tissue, the nucleus of all its cells, I might die off but unless it develops a drug habit, it will not be killing of its own cells.

We have something no machine can ever possess an mind and I believe evololution will stop this type of horror happening

A machine can never be considered alive, life is a gift from evolution

[urangutan]

You seemed to start off so well Alan McDougall. Why would you simply close off the concept, shun it, in such a way that even the priest would call to inquisition.

[Alan McDougall]

Originally Posted by urangutan

You seemed to start off so well Alan McDougall. Why would you simply close off the concept, shun it, in such a way that even the priest would call to inquisition.

I believe in MYSELF I don't believe in religion and I despise fundamentalism , if you read my previous posts in this or other threads you will see this is my firm position