When Robots Ruled the World

I am a big movie guy and while reading "The Machine Stops" I can't help but think of one movie; WALL·E. The article and the film have so much in common, yet they were written almost 90 years apart. Both describe a world where humans have drifted away from the world we live in now and are blind to the hand controlling their every move. Both have a computer or "the Machine;" technologies that have a mind of their own. I can see a world very similar to the ones described in both "The Machine Stops" and WALL·E.

I am sure many people have heard the expression (most likely from their mother as a child) you shouldn't believe everything you hear. More and more today it seems that we believe every tiny bit of gossip we hear on the news, from friends, and now on the Internet. I fear that one day when individual technologies, even artificial intelligence, are providing us with the only outlet of information we will fall victim to their bias. We become puppets of this technological dictatorship and are no longer free individuals. Our entire lives are based upon the "Book of the Machine" and any rebellion is immediately put to rest.

Naturally we love technological advancement and new technology, but at what point does this technology we create begin to think on its own and control us. It is ironic that society's controller is called "the Machine." The people put their entire hope, trust, and lives into an inorganic android. I don't know about you but I prefer real humans with real emotions and real brains telling me what to do. We are definitely far away from Forster's imagined future, but with the emergence of IBM's Watson, I wouldn't say its that far away.

Welcome to Cyberspace, the Birthplace of the New You: Revised

 

As I begin to write this paper examining the future of the Internet and its effect on our lives, I reach an impasse. I am unable to connect to the Internet. I am confident that I can write the paper without the use of the World Wide Web, but the realization that it may not be a means for obtaining information brings forth a feeling of frustration and apprehension. I have become accustomed to having access to the Internet and the technology that ties everyone and everything together. How much more dependent on the Internet will I and society as a whole become in the next five years and into the future? Tim Wu and William Gibson describe how they perceive our future and the Internet in The Master Switch and Neuromancer, respectively. Their imagined futures are rather far-fetched, but they are worlds that are not impossible.

"The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that...serve billions of users worldwide" (Internet). It consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks that are all linked together. Today, the Internet is limited only by one's imagination. It is "the new home of Mind" (Barlow). That quote, made by John Barlow in 1996, is from his manifesto, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. It was a pronouncement that the Internet was outside any country's borders and therefore there was no government that could apply laws to it. It is a "world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live" (Barlow). This world of communication and "civilization of the Mind" cannot be contained by a set of laws.

John Barlow

"The Internet by 2010 had become a fledgling universal network of all types of data: phone calls, video and television, data, a potential replacement for every single information industry of the twentieth century" (Wu 256). The Internet has evolved beyond that which anyone could have ever imagined. But is it becoming too connected? Tim Wu thinks so. He believes we should apply what he calls a Separations Principle to the many information industries of society. This principle would create a "salutary distance between each of the major functions or layers in the information economy" (Wu 304). It is a system of checks and balances that prevents a monopoly from arising. The Internet would be an exception to this principle, however. It is not controlled by anyone and there are very few substitutes for it. Because the Internet encompasses masses of functions, such a system of checks and balances would be a monumental task to achieve. And what of the Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace? It is impossible for anyone to make laws in a world that is as infinite as the mind allows it to be.

Everything is backed by money and power in the world of information industries. It is about gaining as much money and power and keeping it as long as possible. It is why major companies such as Google and Microsoft buy out smaller competing companies. They want their potentially profitable ideas for their own. For this reason, the Separations Principle will not work. This principle may create a cartel and sooner or later selfish desires prevail, ruining any agreement previously set forth. Even if such a body of checks and balances were to come about it would be short-lived. The information technologies of the twentieth century are becoming more and more obsolete. The Internet combines the functions of the many information industries of television, film, and mobile devices. The companies of the many information industries strive to maximize profits. Conversely, consumers want to spend as little money as possible. Once you own a computer, the only costs for Internet use are to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Once connected, the whole Cyberspace world is at your fingertips. Consumers are going to want to use the cheaper, more immersive Internet rather than the more expensive, separate technologies. It is only a matter of time before the Internet literally becomes an immersive experience similar to the one described in William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Ultima Online

Even today, we begin to see the stepping stones of a virtual, immersive Cyberspace. There are millions of people who play dozens of massively multiplayer online role-playing games - MMORPGs (Dibbell 11). The virtual game world allows the user to escape to a fantasy world. Even in 1996 Barlow saw what the Internet truly was; "a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth...where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity" (Barlow). As technology advances, it may be possible for us to physically enter these virtual game worlds and physically be there as opposed to clicking a mouse. For those who are not avid MMORPG players, there is a similar program that could lead to immersion. "Video chat" programs such as Skype are ones that connect two or more people via a video feed that creates the illusion of being face-to-face. We prefer this type of technology because we can see who we are talking to. Cisco Telecommunications has products similar to Skype designed for the business world. "To deliver an immersive collaborative environment with an in person experience, the Cisco TelePresence System 3010 allows 6 people to connect with up to 48 locations" (Cisco). In the description it is defined as an immersive experience. It won't be long before MMORPGs and video chat programs lead to a 3-Dimensional Cyberspace that users materially enter.

However, I cannot see humans wanting to have a "cord" stuck into the back of their heads to enter this Cyberspace world like the way Gibson describes. Rather, I can see a system similar to the one created in James Cameron's Avatar. A person could lie in a link system that connects their nervous system with an avatar or created character in the cyberspace world. I am extremely curious as to what happens to someone who would get "lost" or even die in this Cyberspace world. Do they die in reality as well? Or is it similar to Christopher Nolan's Inception where someone falls into "limbo" and is lost forever? It is almost like creating a second, parallel universe. How that universe connects to the real one we have now will be something that will be difficult to grasp and even define.

Even at the dawn of the Internet's use, Gibson realized that we would be completely dependent on the Internet in the future. Much of the population relies on the Internet every day. Either through computers, smart phones, or iPads, our dependence on the Internet has grown. This addiction was just recently brought to the forefront with the uprising in Egypt. The Egyptian government decided to block all Internet traffic in response to protests against the government. This has only created more protests. "Egypt's government must return Internet access to the country...or perhaps suffer massive economic damage, as banks and other economic institutions return to work without the ability to conduct commerce" (Rothman). The global world has become completely reliant on the Internet; almost everything is connected through it. Our economies depend on it to continue to expand, grow, and remain competitive. It is becoming more apparent that our love for the Internet is leaving us incapable of living and functioning without it on almost every level.

In a previous blog post, I said that we must use our technology appropriately without becoming dependent. This is a difficult concept to put forth and maintain. If we do not, we will lose sight of what is real and what is fake. It seems that if we continue down the path that we are currently on, our conception of reality and fantasy will become blurred. I am afraid that our world will become exactly like the one in Inception. We will be unable to tell the difference between the real world we live in and the imagined one we have created in our minds. We will need "totems" to be able to distinguish in what world we are living. The Internet has been a blessing that has opened up a vast number of doors for advancement and connection, but with every new great technology comes dangerous side effects.

totem from Inception

After about a half hour, I was able to connect to the school's network and writing became faster and less tedious. I used the Internet sparingly. However, the knowledge that it was available if necessary made it easier to retrieve needed information and organize my thoughts into writing. The dependence on constant connectedness is one I feel cannot be reversed nor should it be. Rather, it will increase exponentially until Gibson's vision of a "consensual hallucination" is a reality (Gibson 5). Will the Internet continue to be a phenomenon that allows for infinite ideas or will it one day backfire into a worldwide disaster? Only time and mankind will provide the answer.

Works Cited
Barlow, John P. "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace." Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <https://projects.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html>.
"Cisco TelePresence System 3010 - Cisco Systems." Cisco Systems, Inc. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10753/index.html>.
Dibbell, Julian. Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot. New York, NY: Basic, 2006. Print.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace, 1994. Print.
"Internet." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet>.
Rothman, Wilson. "Net-less Egypt May Face Economic Doom Monday." Technolog. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/28/5942650-net-less-egypt-may-face-economic-doom-monday?ocid=twitter>.
Wu, Tim. The Master Switch: the Rise and Fall of Information Empires. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.

Please Turn Off All Electronic Devices

This past weekend I flew to Boston to visit my girlfriend. As many of you who have flown before know you are required to turn off all cell phones during the duration of the flight. About 30 seconds after the wheels of the plane first touched the ground in Richmond I turned my phone back on. I looked to my right and the woman next to me, who was probably in her late 50s or early 60s had turned her Blackberry back on. I looked to my left and a man in his 40s turned on his HTC smartphone and the college-aged girl next to him turned on her Blackberry. I stopped looking at my own phone for a second to soak in what I just saw. Three different individuals, all a different age and sex glued to their smartphones that they needed to check immediately upon landing. Woah.

After finding my smiling roommate who picked me up and returning to campus (after getting slightly lost), I began to think about what I saw when my plane landed. It seemed to me that more and more people are trying to follow the trends of technology. It seems that more and more people are turning to smartphones for their mobile devices. This is not just teens or adults of the business world, but people of every age and sex. I was utterly shocked when I saw the nice, old lady next to me who was reading Eat Pray Love take out a Blackberry when we landed. It seems that the constant connectedness to everyone and everything is so important to so many. Smartphones enable everyone to do so much. I understand that not everyone has a smartphone (such as my parents and grandparents) but there are an increasing number of owners today. There are currently an estimated 500 million smartphone users globally.

A majority of the general public tends to keep up with current trends in the technological markets. It will be interesting to see what the smartphone develops into next. It will be even more interesting to see how prevalent it is in our everyday lives.

Smith, Graham. "Surge in Smartphone Users Blamed for Clogging up Mobile Networks | Mail Online." Mail Online. 15 Feb. 2011. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1357174/Surge-smartphone-users-blamed-clogging-mobile-networks.html>.

Virtual Me

As I read Play Money I can't help but remember my middle school days when I played massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). I read Dibbell describe his early days in the online gaming world and can't help but see myself. When I was younger my game was Runescape. All my friends played it and it was the popular thing with all of the guys. The interesting thing was how much I related to the early experiences Dibbell had when he first starting playing. He told stories of how he simply went around doing the same thing over and over again. From what I remember, that was exactly what I did!

My character would walk around Runescape, or whatever the virtual world was called, and I remember I kept making it mine for specific ores so I could sell them and get as much gold as possible. But then what? I would buy a new sword or armor, but that was it. It was an endless cycle that I loved to go to every day. Now looking back on it and reading a book almost about the exact same thing in college made me laugh. It was almost kind of pathetic that that was what I did every day after school. Yet there are adults that do the exact same thing today. What is that driving force that brings people back day after day to the same thing?

I think that desire is from the ability to simply get away and be someone else, somewhere else. In online, virtual worlds you can be whoever you want to be. That is why they have become so popular and stayed that way for many years. I can definitely see a 3-Dimensional virtual world for gamers in the near future and possibly an immersive one not too far down the road.

Welcome to Cyberspace, the Birthplace of the New You

As I begin to write this paper about whose imagined future of the Internet and its effect on our lives is more accurate, I come to an impasse; I cannot connect to the Internet. Yes, I could definitely write the paper without the use of the World Wide Web, but the fact that it isn't there if I should need it makes me nervous. I need to be able to have access to the Internet, the technology that ties everyone and everything together. It made me think about how dependent on the Internet I will be in 5 years if I freak out without it now. Tim Wu and William Gibson describe how they perceive our future and the Internet in The Master Switch and Neuromancer, respectively. Their imagined futures are rather far-fetched, but they are worlds that are not impossible.

"The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that...serve billions of users worldwide" (Internet). It consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks that are all linked together. Today, the Internet can do anything and everything. It is "the new home of Mind" (Barlow). That quote, made by John Barlow in 1996, is from his manifesto, A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace. It was a pronouncement that the Internet was outside any country's borders and therefore there was no government that could apply laws to it. It is a "world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live" (Barlow). This world of communication and "civilization of the Mind" cannot be contained by a set of laws.

John Barlow

"The Internet by 2010 had become a fledgling universal network of all types of data: phone calls, video and television, data, a potential replacement for every single information industry of the twentieth century" (Wu 256). The Internet has become so much more than anyone could have ever imagined. But is it becoming too connected? Tim Wu thinks so. He believes we should apply what he calls a Separations Principle to the many information industries of society. This principle would create a "salutary distance between each of the major functions or layers in the information economy" (Wu 304). It is a system of checks and balances, without government intervention, that prevents a monopoly from arising. The Internet would be an exception to this principle, however. It is not controlled by anyone and there are very few substitutes for it. You can't check every function of the Internet; it is so massive. And what of the Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace? It is impossible for anyone to make laws in a world that is as infinite as the mind allows it to be.

Everything is backed by money and power. In the world of information industries it's about gaining as much money and power and keeping it as long as possible. It is why the major companies such as Google and Microsoft buy out smaller competing companies because they want their potentially profitable ideas for their own. For this reason, the Separations Principle will not work. This principle is creating a cartel and sooner or later someone's selfish desires are going to ruin the agreement set forth. Even if such a body of checks and balances were to come about it would be short-lived. The information technologies of the twentieth century are becoming more and more obsolete. The Internet can do everything that the many information industries of television, film, and mobile devices must do separately. The companies of the many information industries strive to maximize profits. Conversely, consumers want to spend as little money as possible. The only costs for Internet use are to Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Once connected, the whole Cyberspace world is at your fingertips. Consumers are going to want to use the cheaper, more immersive Internet rather than the more expensive, separate technologies. It is only a matter of time before the Internet literally becomes an immersive experience similar to the one described in William Gibson's Neuromancer.

Ultima Online

Even today, we begin to see the stepping stones of a virtual, immersive Cyberspace. There are millions of people who play dozens of massively multiplayer online role-playing games - MMORPGs (Dibbell 11). The virtual game world is one where people escape to so they can be whoever they want to be. Even in 1996 Barlow saw what the Internet truly was; "a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth...where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity" (Barlow). As technology advances, it is possible for us to physically enter these virtual game worlds and physically be there as opposed to clicking a mouse. For those who are not avid MMORPG players, there is a similar program that could lead to immersion. "Video chat" programs such as Skype are ones that connect two or more people via a video feed that creates the illusion of being face-to-face. We prefer this type of technology because we can see who we are talking to. Cisco Telecommunications has products similar to this designed for the business world. "To deliver an immersive collaborative environment with an in person experience, the Cisco TelePresence System 3010 allows 6 people to connect with up to 48 locations" (Cisco). In the description it is defined as an immersive experience. It won't be long before MMORPGs and video chat programs lead to a 3-Dimensional Cyberspace that users physically enter.

However, I cannot see humans wanting to have a "cord" stuck into the back of their heads to enter this Cyberspace world like the way Gibson describes. Rather, I can see a system similar to the one created in James Cameron's Avatar. A person lies in a link system that connects their nervous system with an avatar in the cyberspace world. I am extremely curious as to what happens to someone who would get "lost" or even die in this Cyberspace world. Do they die in real life as well? Or is it similar to Christopher Nolan's Inception where someone falls into "limbo" and is lost forever? It is almost like creating a second, parallel universe. How that universe connects to the real one we have now will be something that will be difficult to grasp and even define.

Even at the dawn of the Internet's use, Gibson realized that we would be completely dependent on the Internet in the future. We rely on the Internet every day. Either through computers, smart phones, or iPads, our dependence on the Internet has grown. This addiction comes to the public's eye today in Egypt. The Egyptian government decided to block all Internet traffic in response to protests. This has only created more protests. "Egypt's government must return Internet access to the country...or perhaps suffer massive economic damage, as banks and other economic institutions return to work without the ability to conduct commerce" (Rothman). We have put too much reliance on the Internet; almost everything is connected through it. Our economies depend on it to continue to expand and grow. We seem to love our Internet so much that we cannot live without it at all times.

In a previous blog post, I said that we must use our technology appropriately without becoming dependent. This is a difficult concept to put forth, but if we don't we will lose sight of what is real and what is not. It seems that if we continue down the path that we are currently on, our conception of reality and fantasy will become blurred. I am afraid that our world will become exactly like the one in Inception. We will be unable to tell the difference between the real world we live in and the fake one we have created in our minds. We will need "totems" to be able to distinguish in what world we are living. The Internet has been a blessing that has opened up a vast number of doors for advancement and connection, but with every new great technology comes dangerous side effects.

totem from Inception

After about a half hour, I was able to connect to the school's network and writing came easier. I used the Internet sparingly but the fact that I had it if necessary made it easier to write my thoughts. The dependence on constant connectedness is one I feel will never decrease, but rather increase exponentially until Gibson's vision of a "consensual hallucination" (Gibson 5) is a reality. Will the Internet continue to be a phenomenon that allows for infinite ideas or will it become a disaster that ruins everyone and everything? Only time will tell.

Works Cited
Barlow, John P. "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace." Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <https://projects.eff.org/~barlow/Declaration-Final.html>.
"Cisco TelePresence System 3010 - Cisco Systems." Cisco Systems, Inc. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps10753/index.html>.
Dibbell, Julian. Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot. New York, NY: Basic, 2006. Print.
Gibson, William. Neuromancer. New York: Ace, 1994. Print.
"Internet." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet>.
Rothman, Wilson. "Net-less Egypt May Face Economic Doom Monday." Technolog. 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. <http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/28/5942650-net-less-egypt-may-face-economic-doom-monday?ocid=twitter>.
Wu, Tim. The Master Switch: the Rise and Fall of Information Empires. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.

Are Smart Phones Taking Over?

This past weekend I paid attention to how and why I used my smart phone. I'll admit that I live on my phone. I need it to keep in contact with everyone on campus as well as everyone off of it. I receive all of my emails as well as check the weather and occasionally sports. It connects me to everyone and everything. When I wake up in the morning I need it to check the weather outside so I know what to wear. I also look at it to see any emails I received while sleeping. Of course, spiderbytes is always there so I have to read that. Occasionally, I have other emails (usually junk).

The most important thing I use my phone for is keeping in contact with my girlfriend and my parents. Since I currently have shingles, my parents have either called me or texted me everyday, sometimes more than once, to see how I'm doing. This is extremely helpful because me being an 18 year old who doesn't know much about being sick needs to ask his mother about every little thing. Similarly, I need my phone to keep in contact with my girlfriend who is at college 10 hours away. With my phone, I am able to text and call her throughout the day. My phone is always in my hand or pocket and without it I would be lost.

I love and hate cell phones at the same time. I love how great they are for connecting me with everyone everywhere. However, I hate how dependent I am of it. There are times when I'll stop everything because I don't know where my phone is. Like a small girl with a beloved doll, I do not like being separated from my beloved phone. However, are we (myself included) losing sight of what reality is? We become so attached to technology that we forget what is real. A conversation over text message isn't the same as a conversation face to face. I need to actually go out and see them for it to be real. Cell phones and smart phones are great inventions that connect people in ways we never could imagine. However, we must not forget that they are only a way to retain a relationship until you are face-to-face again.

We must be careful not to let the hallucination of reality via cell phones take over the real, physical world. In Gibson's "Neuromancer," the characters are always relying on the matrix and cyberspace. Eventually, artificial intelligence has complete control over humans. We must use our technology appropriately without becoming dependent. This is a difficult concept to put forth, but if we don't we will lose sight of what is real and what is not.

Addiction

As I read Neuromancer by William Gibson, I try to see the parallels of how he envisioned cyberspace and what it actually is today. Our cyberspace isn't as advanced as the world that he creates in his novel, but I do think that one day we could have something very similar to it. Today, more and more things are "3D." It won't be long before the matrix that Gibson describes becomes real and we actually enter the cyberspace world.

The most interesting thing I found while reading the novel is the dependence on the cyberspace. The characters use the matrix often and rely on it to do almost everything. This is how the world is today. Almost everyone uses either a computer or smartphone to access the Internet. Our dependence on it has become startling. I truly began to realize this when I heard about the riots in Egypt. The Egyptian government decided to block all Internet traffic in response to protests. This has only created more protests. I read an article on msnbc.com where Wilson Rothman says that "Egypt's government must return Internet access to the country....or perhaps suffer massive economic damage, as banks and other economic institutions return to work without the ability to conduct commerce." Wow. That really opens your eyes and as I think about it I would be infuriated if the American government "turned off" my Internet. I use it every day and without it I would feel lost.

The phrase "you don't know a good thing until it's gone" cannot accurately describe the reaction to a world without the Internet. It is a great thing and it is something we need to survive. The Internet has shrunk the map and made it possible to talk with someone on the other side of the world. We do this without even thinking about how we had to stay in contact before. I would have to hope we don't start protesting and have our Internet blocked in America, but I do hope that it is reinstated in Egypt for the sake of its economic benefit.

Works Cited: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/28/5942650-net-less-egypt-may-face-economic-doom-monday?ocid=twitter