Internet will evolve into a global brain, experts say

By Dick Pelletier

      

    Computer scientists compare the Internet to Earth growing a global brain. As users, we represent the neurons; our emails, IMs, and blogs act as synaptic actions; and electromagnetic waves through the sky become neural pathways. Like germinating seeds, this wonder-tech continues to evolve and as many predict, will not stop until it achieves human-like consciousness.

    Forward thinkers believe that sentience can emerge from information systems like the Internet. Belgium artificial intelligence expert, Francis Heylighen believes that the worldwide web empowers itself from billions of human interactions it observes daily, and one day, feelings and self-awareness will rise from this worldwide digital creation.

    Feelings are a lower level of consciousness in a system's environment. In that sense, the global brain is just beginning to understand events that affect its goals. Higher consciousness and self-awareness levels would enable the Internet to reflect on its own functioning. Although today's algorithms make the web more intelligent, it still cannot monitor itself; but quantum computing and artificial intelligence advances expected in the 2020s, will greatly enhance our global brain.

    Could tomorrow's global brain connect directly to human minds? At present, information exchanged between humans and computers only occur with mouse, keyboard or voice. However, futurists believe that one day technology will enable us to interface wirelessly with machines (and each other) in a "thought-talking" mode. Imagine commanding machines with our thoughts and communicating mind-to-mind with each other.

    Nearly 25% of humanity is now connected to this worldwide wonder, according to the forthcoming 2009 State of the Future report, which will be available mid-August at www.stateofthefuture.org. Of the 4 billion mobile phones in use around the world, most are "increasingly becoming personal electronic companions, combining the functions of a Web-connected computer, telephone, camera, music player, TV, and library."

    But today's Internet needs help, experts say, so President Obama has allocated $7.2 billion in stimulus money to enhance America's broadband capabilities. A faster Internet will allow a richer surfing experience, more lifelike teleconferencing, and outsourcing of more services to the Web, this according to a recent report from the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

    Web applications are sprouting up everywhere. Carnegie Mellon professors teach classes digitally to satellite campuses around the world, MIT instructors upload lectures to YouTube, and The Teaching Company is researching ways for making telelectures profitable for universities.

    Videoconferencing allows doctors to monitor patient health around the clock. The Renaissance Computing Institute in North Carolina has developed an Outpatient Health Monitoring System (OHMS) for asthma patients. OHMS uses multiple wireless sensors to monitor both patient's condition and environmental factors.

    Looking ahead, by 2020 or before, with video resolution four times sharper than today's HDTV and haptic technologies providing realistic touch sensations, our wondernet will deliver holographic images of lifelike virtual interactions indiscernible from reality. We could organize meetings with friends or relatives from anywhere in the world with no travel involved. People will hug, kiss and reminisce as if everyone was actually together.

    Finally, by mid-2030s, when artificial intelligence is expected to surpass human intelligence, positive futurists believe that this futuristic communication system will become fully conscious and self-aware as it guides humanity through this mind-boggling "magical future" time.

This article appeared in various print publications and on-line blogs. Comments always welcome.