There's a ghost in my Internet
Updated: 2013-03-19 11:14
By Jules Quartly (China Daily)
|
|||||||||||
"We cannot even predict what kinds of emergent properties would appear when animals begin interacting as part of a 'brain-net'," Nicolelis said, adding brains in series would theoretically lead to better performance and solutions that no single brain would ever be capable of.
From a utopian perspective it sounds a bit like the Chinese Valentine's story, according to which the star-crossed lovers are allowed to meet on a bridge of magpies once a year from their opposite sides of the Milky Way. From a dystopian viewpoint it is more like The Matrix, where we are inside each others' thoughts, yet controlled by machines policing the Internet from within as it is controlled by them without.
Meanwhile, across the Atlantic in Europe, scientists have hooked up robots to a part of the Web so they can update information and adapt to their environments. Effectively, machines can update themselves on the Net, or learn as they go.
The technical head of the project at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Mohanarajah Gajamohan, said the system would be particularly useful for drones, self-driving cars and other mobile robots. It would effectively allow robots to operate outside tightly controlled environments and live among the general population.
Which brings us back to the phrase "ghost in the machine", first posted by the philosopher Gilbert Ryle in 1949 as a rebuttal of dualism, the idea of a ghostly connection between the body and mind. Arthur Koestler later borrowed the concept to explain how the "old" evolutionary layer of the brain is the ghost in the machine, responsible for primitive responses like hate and anger - as opposed to rational thought.
The idea of machines and what they can do has radically changed after half a century and science suggests robots are becoming ever more sentient and wired-in. Equally, it would appear, we are becoming ghosts in the machine, while the Web is at the center of everything, and growing exponentially.
Contact the writer at julesquartly@chinadaily.com.cn.
Related:
Learn how to code or be left behind
Hacking has changed over the years. When I was a kid, it mostly referred to fouls on the soccer field. After I got a job, it was something bad journalists did. More...
Expats on the loose in Beijing
Related Stories
Learn how to code or be left behind 2013-03-06 17:34
Nerd world conference spells end of the world as we know it 2012-12-11 09:20
Bread, circuses and hair removal creams 2012-10-30 09:27
Complimentary jukebox 2013-01-11 11:09
Joys of online shopping not just for the young 2012-12-28 09:15
Why the young Chinese get physically weaker 2012-12-21 14:57
Today's Top News
Police continue manhunt for 2nd bombing suspect
H7N9 flu transmission studied
8% growth predicted for Q2
Nuke reactor gets foreign contract
First couple on Time's list of most influential
'Green' awareness levels drop in Beijing
Palace Museum spruces up
Trading channels 'need to broaden'
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
Poultry industry under pressure |
'Spring' in the air for NGOs? |
Boy set to drive Chinese golf |
Latest technology gets people talking |
Firms crave cyber connection |