Judgement Day

Did anyone else think of The Terminator when Kevin Kelly mentioned how the internet was doubling in capacity every two years and will easily be more capable than the human brain by the end of the decade? Like, seriously. The Matrix? Irobot? War Games? It seems like as long as there has been the notion that computers could one day be smart enough to destroy the world, they most certainly will. Whether that's paranoia or insight isn't for me to say, but smarter technology is where things are going. My new iPhone recognizes my thumbprint, so if I accidentally leave it on the bus, a thieving stranger won't have access to what's inside. It knows where I am right now and can tell me where I want to go and the fastest way to get there.

Kelly predicts that the way things are going, the “web” will be smarter and more personalized, but for this to happen, we're going to need to be comfortable with a heightened level of transparency with our technology. It needs to understand us to be used to it's fullest potential.

How much are we ready for? The change needs to be gradual enough so humanity isn't struck slack-jawed at the capability of the technology that's been made available to them. Maybe 5000 days is gradual enough. Hell, even if it does some day hit the fan and web-based technology becomes so smart that it decides that the best thing for the human race is it's complete destruction, at least I've seen The Terminator, The Matrix, iRobot, War Games, Eagle Eye, Tron, and Bladerunner (I'm sure I'm missing a bunch) enough times to know what to do.

The big question for me, is what exactly are we so afraid of? If more transparency is what web 3.0 is going to need before it can figure out how to match our socks to our ties, why not let it in? I hate matching those things. Kelly has predicted, and we've seen hypothesized in like a million ways how crazy powerful and capable the internet could become. Movies that give us a glimpse into the internetted future gross millions because we all want to see what it would be like. But, there seems to be a bold line drawn between what we day-dream of coming true and what we're terrified of happening. The recent whistle-blowing of Wikileaks and Edward Snowden made light of the latter; The age-old paranoia that BigBrother is watching. Or listening, or collecting data or probably reading our minds or something. How far will what some people see as this abuse of our basic american freedoms hinder what will be allowed to happen in the next 5000 days?

As a culture, we seem polarized. Either with our heads in the clouds, dreaming of satellite-controlled lawnmowers, or at the other end, convinced that technology will stand for nothing less than the absolute destruction of the human race. Can't we find some middle ground?