Re: From WWW to Super-Brain (new PCP node)
Onar Aam (onar@HSR.NO)
Tue, 10 Jan 1995 16:46:31 +0100
I am of the opinion that you don't need WWW to generate a super-brain. As I see
it the entire cultural history is evidence of an evolving super-brain (the
Socius). This idea is not new. Many philosophers have seen individuals as nodes
in a social engine, a machine of knowledge and logic.
But the exploding development of computer networks opens up for a
revolution in social computation. However, I believe the future that Francis
sketches is a little optimistic. That the web is learning is obvious. Societies
have been learning for centuries, why stop now. But I doubt that the web will
evolve a semantic structure. Human knowledge has never been semantic and there
is no reason that it should suddenly start behaving semantically. In fact, I
would claim that with increasing amounts of information, knowledge becomes less
semantic.
And with all individuals in the world connected there is great danger of
epidemics and large-scale diseases which undermine a semantic structure.
Besides, think of the disasters of super-brain depressions. We have experienced
them mildly as economic recessions, but in a closely connected web these
depressions may be much more aggressive. Also think about the possibility of
info-wars, which would be the super-brain's equivalence to schizophrenia. Or
what about crime. Any sense of realism suggests that cyberspace will not be a
world devoid of crime. In my view info-crimes are a lot more powerful than most
economic crimes, because in an information-space information allows one to
directly manipulate people's personalities and -gasp- reality itself.
Onar.