21st Century Empowered Nerds Part One:Young Nerds of the Future Your Time has Come, the Geeks shall inherit the Earth

21st Century Nerds:your time has come

Were you ever bullied as a child? Picked on for being kinda quirky, a little brainy, painfully shy, were a dainty guy or not so girly girl, maybe you had non sports related interests? Well 21st Century Empowered Nerds, Nerds of the Future, your time has come. Despite the fact your awkward, uncoordinated phase of teen aged body changes didn't quite run it's course until your early 20's, maybe the possibility socialization with the opposite sex was beyond your depth. Regardless of the idea your taste in fashion was not up to what was considered cool... I remember the 80's. It wasn't a cool period for fashion, (neither were the early 90's to be honest) your time has come. Forget that it was because you liked science and learning. It's time to celebrate, it couldn't be any clearer the Geeks shall inherit the Earth.

Where does the road begin for the 21st Century Empowered Nerd?

Dr. Seuss' Nerd

In 1957, in Glasgow, Scotland, "nerd" was first defined as "square." The actual word "nerd" was apparently coined in the 1950 Dr. Seuss book "If I Ran the Zoo" Seuss drew a non-human creature called a 'nerd" from the land of Ka-roo. This is the first instance of the word "nerd" in print. Some theorists believe the word started in the 1940's. College students who liked to party there were called "drunks" (yeah... so much has changed) but the quieter, less-inclined-to-party types were labeled "knurds."(drunk spelled backwards) make the "k" silent and you have the precursor to the modern "nerd."

the first movie nerd?

Motion pictures, the most powerful medium of communication in human history continues to have a huge impact on the lives of almost everyone on earth. The first nerd in movie history was the popular silent comedian Harold Lloyd, playing a weak, underdog type of comedic character, one bullied by men and ignored by women. But in the end, he would triumph and inevitably get the girl of his dreams. The Lloyd character wore trademark glasses, in which Lloyd always referred to his character as the "glasses" or "glass" character. Throughout the decades since we've seen many incarnations of the nerd, with the three stooges (and a movie of the same name) and Jerry Lewis' characters (inspiring the character of professor Frink in the longest running cartoon the Simpsons) topping the list of the best known (and loved) nerds.

professor Frink

80's Nerds: Empowered Nerds

revenge of the nerds

Despite being raised on a steady diet of the tough guy is cool-survival of the fittest paradigm, it's clear we love to route for the little guy when not routing for the action hero. Or perhaps we like seeing the bully toppled from his high horse so much we actually see a bully turn from this

thing of the past for the 21st Century Empowered Nerds

to a slicked back hair wearing, Coke bottle glasses sporting, flood pant waist to the stomach nerd after being abandoned by his frat brothers. Seeing for himself (from the "losers" perspective) the heart and passion that overcame his frat brothers in Revenge of the Nerds. In the third act of the sequel "Nerds in Paradise" he accepted his inner nerd and joined their fraternity.

The little guy (geek) doesn't need to have the Coke bottle glasses and atrocious dress sense to have us route for him, maybe just not fitting into the model of what's considered socially acceptable, like Delta Tau Chi Fraternity in the movie Animal House. It begins with a nerd seeking to join a fraternity and finding Delta Tau Chi after being rejected by the "cool frats". He finds his place with a group who not only have to contend with the uptight Omega fraternity, but a Dean who wants to remove the Delta's from campus due to repeated conduct violations and low academic standing.
In the end, the nerds/outcasts get their revenge despite the loss of their fraternity's charter, after the mayhem and before the end credits as we learn the fate of all the characters, with Bluto, the least likely to become anything of substance is destined to become a U.S. Senator.

90's Nerds:Your Time has Come... almost

Urkel

A coalition of African-American activists and scholars released a strongly worded statement citing the “urgent need” for popular media to depict a new black nerd archetype that more accurately reflects the full spectrum of 21st-century American "dorkdom"
It went on to say “Outdated representations of African-American nerds are simply not cutting it anymore, perhaps in the ’80s and ’90s it was possible for young people to identify with Steve Urkel’s hiked-up pants, nasal voice, and lovable catchphrase ‘Did I do that?’ But today’s black nerds are different." (Substitute slide rules and calculators for the iPhone and hand held game platforms, they make posts on Twitter, Face book, and You tube) the statement continued, “Yet where are the modern-day nerds of color in our films and television programs?”

For the 21st century nerd, in the late 90's, Paramount's late 90's creation of Star Trek Deep Space Nine featured the first African American Captain (as Principal character) Benjamin Sisko,

was very appealing to the droves of underrepresented fans. Marvel Comics recently unveiled a new Spider man character, who happens to be of mixed race (Black and Latino) and a nerd.

African American Spiderman for the 21st century nerd

The new Spidey is a 13 year old lives in Brooklyn with his parents, was revealed in Marvel Comics' Ultimate Fallout Issue 4. He replaces long-time comic-book favorite Peter Parker, who hailed from Queens and was killed in Ultimate Spider-Man Issue 160.
Times are certainly changing. The connection? An idea not only appropriate but necessary for the times, but an idea like nerds one day being cool would have had no chance in the 20th century. But let's face it, in today's world of Sci-Fi, emerging technology (CGI), the embracing of math and science and being free to employ complex vernacular in conversation without fear of wedgies. Yes, between living in the digital age and intelligence being celebrated across all cultures, it is a great time to be alive (and a nerd)
The PC, Internet and the Digital Age

No doubt, living in an age where emerging technology is at the forefront of our material obsession, being smart and technologically adept is as advantageous today as being mechanically inclined was in the 20th. In the age of knowledge and personal development, being a nerd isn't a bad thing. Today, we like smart people, and even celebrate their quirkiness, which is without a doubt why a show like the Big Bang is doing so well.
To attest to just how ground breakingly funny (and universal) the show is, it was actually my Grandmother that got me into the show. The show's success with young and old of all cultures is due in the most part to the fact we get an insight into the challenges of being nerdy geniuses and see how they deal with relationships and social issues, the other part is that most viewers today can actually comprehend the brainy dialogue (with humorous discussions about time paradoxes, black holes, worm holes, quantum physics, string theory, M theory being the norm) which is most probably why the contemporary Star Trek franchise enjoyed a broader audience, unlike the 60's cereal (which I am a fan of) who's scientifically meritable concepts often left most non brainy viewers scratching their heads while waiting for Captain Kirk to reengage their attention with fisticuffs. Most viewers back then that weren't fans of the genre (or as I call it, the pre Star Wars era) were more comfortable dismissing the scientific concepts (like cosmic strings, worm holes and the possibility of parallel universes) as sci fi jibber jabber, the fantastical stories as sci fi nonsense, where today's viewer is familiar with the more techie aspects, and as such is more engaged in the story. The model of the hero (principle character) was even modified to fit the 21 century nerd's appreciation for changing times, with a bald Captain, the first African American Captain, and the first female Captain,

21st Century Star Trek

non of which would have fit the Dirty Harry- shoot first ask questions later generation, ever dedicated to the debonair, 9 times out of 10 getting the girl, heart breaker action hero of old times.
Between the pride over their comic book collections, both video and board game nights, unlimited genre discussions and references to Sci-Fi movie and TV shows, trivia, competition for nerdy prized possessions and the trials and tribulations of courting and understanding the opposite sex... the nerd characters in The Big Bang Theory are brilliantly funny.
21st Century Nerd Revamp

Maybe you can relate to the 21 Jump Street, where the good looking, baby faced heart breakers were cops assigned to work undercover in various high schools. Clearly, the film makers (of the revamp) understood the model wouldn't play well as a piece as serious as the original, and instead took a cop who was once a cool jock and teamed him with a rookie partner who was a nerd he picked on in high school. The two find the paradigm of what is and what isn't cool had switched as drastically as a polar shift (theory the north and south poles could change places due to cosmic influences) where the nerd found popularity and the cool jock was the outcast.

It played very well as a comedy, taking a tongue and cheek approach to smartly cover some of the social issues today's high school-er faces, demonstrating the smarter, more tolerant and inclusive teenager of today, where for the 21st century nerd, the future looks bright indeed.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR 21ST CENTURY NERDS

nerd-kid

The 21^st Century Youth Project is an initiative primarily dedicated for children’s learning. And it’s absolutely free of charge. The goal of this educational program is for children to learn how to create applications that can be sold to their local communities, schools, small businesses or mobile platform owners. Ideas revolve around five key areas: mobile app development, SAT training, business planning, mentoring and open-source educational curriculum. Aside from the knowledge these kids will harness, a portion of the profits goes into a general scholarship fund for their college education. I don't recall ever hearing about anything so ground breaking before the present time.

While children get more involved and hooked into the tech world, enterprises have found ways to the hearts of these playful and curious ones. This summer, LeapFrog is expected to launch LeapPad Explorer-a tablet that will surely be the apple of any kid’s eye. Compared to what the same company offered just 10 years ago, the future nerd has it great, with the gadget including apps for drawing, math and general play games.
Is there an app for that? You betcha! Apps exclusively crafted for kids to engage in a fun and interactive learning that promotes exploration of their wants, skills and talents are available. The technology and mentality of the digital/information age will enable them to answer the question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

With the spread of the digital classroom, most experts believe it won’t be long before Mark Zuckerberg is dethroned as the youngest billionaire. This era’s returning interest in math and science education isn't lost on today’s tech sector, and preparing our youth for the future has begun to include proper teaching methods around mobile web apps. The tools being made available are unlike anything that came before. Click here for more on how knowledge has increased in the information age.

FAMOUS MILLIONAIRE NERDS, 21st Century Empowered Nerds the Geeks shall inherit the Earth

Bill Gates

Although not always the case, nerds are often portrayed as socially and physically awkward, bespectacled, and having a single-minded interest - to the point of obsession - in tasks and fields that are obscure, novel, or simply too complex for the "mainstream" society to understand. It's the single mindedness that empowers the successful nerd. Like Bill Gates, seen as the poster boy of everything nerd, Gates was features on the pages of Fortune magazine when he was only 13. Fueled by dreams of starting his own company, Gates spent most of his free time hunched over an ASR-33 Teletype model, an early computer by General Electric, to hone his programming mastery.

Never quite fitting in with the tennis and golfing communities in Washington, Bill Gates met Paul Allen (another nerd) and the two went on to found Microsoft, revolutionizing the computing world with Windows making him one of the world's wealthiest business magnates and a philanthropist. Indeed we are quite familiar with the strides today's nerds have made, being responsible for Mac (Apple) Google, Face book, Myspace, You tube and many more platforms part of common everyday use. Today's nerd is also an entrepreneur.

With the PC and the Internet being dubbed as tools for the young, is there any doubt the 21st century nerd hasn't been given the keys to the kingdom? Nerds have always walked the lonely path of the underdog, and MLM Network Marketing is today's David to the Goliath that is the corporation. (Remember Napster?) before Napster  record companies devalued the marketing opportunities the Internet offered, and the service helped reshape the way music is now shared on the Internet.

Financial Experts Agree

Robert Kiyosaki

As I covered in my previous blog I discussed how Millionaire experts such as Warren Buffet, Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki have endorsed network marketing as being the future of personal enterprise through entrepreneurship. What do the billionaire nerds and the nerdy financial giants/experts have in common with the 21st century nerd? Like the 21st century nerd, their brains are simply wired differently.

Like the 21st century nerd, they look outside the box, defy traditional social convention, and take on tasks not meant for the average mortal. Despite keeping up with the latest gear, the 21st century nerd takes pride in thumbing the nose at big business. Why..? Because the nerd is the little guy society routes for, and MLM/Network Marketing is the little guy in a world of 20th century Goliaths

For the 21st Century Empowered Nerds, Young Nerds of the Future Your Time has Come... the Geeks shall inherit the Earth. Click here
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Knowledge shall be increased, end times prophecies in the information age

Knowledge shall be increased, end times prophecies in the information age





There is no doubt we're living in the information age, and there is no doubt knowledge shall be increased in the so-called end of times. It has been doing so steadily (for the average person) since the 20th century, and we have the industrial revolution to thank for that. Prior to the industrial revolution, the average family lived in rural areas working the land, then from the mid 1700's, changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times.

The Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in world history; influencing almost every aspect of daily life. The average income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. According to WikipediA, in the two centuries following the 1800's, the world's average per capita income increased over tenfold, while the world's population increased over sixfold. Great Britain (as the empire of the day) provided the legal and cultural foundations that enabled entrepreneurs to pioneer the industrial revolution, and with the transition away from an agricultural-based economy and towards machine-based manufacturing came a great influx of population from the countryside into the towns and cities, which swelled in population.

The 2nd industrial revolution in the mid 1800's, came with technological and economic progress with the development of steam-powered ships and railways, then later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. No doubt the Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita economic growth in newly formed capitalist economies, and economic historians are in agreement that the Industrial Revolution is the most important event in the history of humanity since the domestication of animals and plants as many as 10,000 years ago.



With the evolution of writing that distinguished the earliest civilizations was originally a skill confined to an elite group of officials, priests and scribes, who also studied mathematics and astronomy. As such there was a social divide between the educated and the illiterate, who were forced to work hard as soldiers or peasants (labourers)Although access to education has evolved, overcoming barriers like social status, race and gender, there is still some knowledge coveted by the few.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, education was limited to the priesthood as authorities linked knowledge to decadence, which was believed to be the primary instrument of the fall (I have my own opinions) and for the common man, education in any form was outlawed and punishable by imprisonment or death. The result...? The 500 year Western European dark age (a term medieval historians today usually avoid) where holy wars became the only (un) sustainable industry. The resurgence of knowledge (in Europe) was attributed to the Renaissance and the refinement and spread of the printing press.





Education and the Industrial Revolution

In this new world, the industrial mode of production generated important new requirements for education. First, the effective combination of human workers with machinery required a general knowledge, the workers had to be able to read and write documents that defined work processes and standards. The rather miserable living conditions of the early factory workers (both adults and children)

eventually pushed some factory owners to set up schools to improve living conditions and survival rates of their workers and productivity in their factories.

These changes most directly influenced education which was oriented towards the productive layer of the society. Indirectly, however, the newly acquired capabilities and attitudes also influenced the broader society, as well as education that was oriented towards personal growth and development. As a side-effect, the industrial model of production became the foundation for large scale administration and governance and enabled wider participation of citizens in public life and political processes, facilitating the expansion of the information society and democracy.

By the early 20th century, the link between productive work and personal development became increasingly loose. Factory work was organized in a way where work tasks typically lacked intrinsic meaning and motive. Work also consumed much of the time that otherwise could have been used for personal growth. Formal education was thus also needed to compensate this decline in opportunities for personal development at work, leading to the emergence of corporate-centric identities and a new concept of human development, where climbing an organizational hierarchy was understood as progress.



Towards the second half of the 20th century, the educational system was already quite well aligned with the requirements of the Industrial period. This led to a relatively stable state, where advancement equaled parallel expansion in production and education, which has steadily increased into the new millennium.







End of the world and the Book of Revelation



The final book of the New Testament occupies a central part in Christian eschatology (a major branch of study within Christian Theology) is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world. the study of the destiny of humankind as it is revealed by the Bible is the primary source for all Christian eschatology studies, a title derived from the first word of the text, apokalypsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation. Again, one has to consider language, as apokalypsis or apocalypse has come to be defined as the end of the world by war or "the wrath" of...



I lean more towards unveiling or awakening, which in the age of information is a key component of evolving human consciousness. The worlds many religions have various interpretations which most seem to generally embrace the same pessimistic
view.

With end of days prophecies being part of the zeitgeist, and being used to oil the machine of progress (capitalism) and seems to be a flame some have moved from fanning to pouring gasoline on an already wildfire (despite the fiscal cliff America is facing as the contemporary world power/empire, the U.S. Congress is adjourning on... you guessed it, December 21st) Who can blame them really? When the signs of something grand for humanity is on the horizon.



Some would look at the above crop circle representation as staged, but if the reader had any idea what it takes to make those sort of impressions (especially this complex) it would make one wonder what the point of it all would be, and if the culprits didn't have better things to spend their time and energy on.

Add to that the popularity of horror genre films (where everything from vampires to...



that's right... zombies) have nearly cornered the market on entertainment, fears/interests in a potential zombie apocalypse have never been higher (perhaps because people love to be frightened) and conspiracy theorists wait with baited breath every time a new form of virus/flu is followed by a new round of international vaccination protocols, just waiting for the time to lock themselves away in their zombie proofed homes and break out the zombie apocalypse survival kits.



some are even prepared to go on a supply run if need be, with the latest in anti zombie super cars (not available till 2014. lol)







The Digital/Knowledge Revolution



Represents an irreversible shift in the global state of mind; a fundamentally new world view that encompasses insights from ancient times through current breakthrough science and technology, disrupting the established order. According to researchers, there are three major disruptors of the established order – population shifts, resource supply, and technological developments (like AI), which are producing phenomena never before encountered in the industrial society.

This suggests that the revolution will not flow from the mobilization of new machines; rather it will require a fundamental revamp of the human context in which machines are used. With the expansive use of the PC (personal computer) from the 1980's, and the internet from the 1990's, there is no doubt the access of a multitude of information has been made available to the masses unlike any time before.



Information which used to be confined to the elite few is now being shared with the speed of an Internet search result. Access to information once only available in post secondary and ivy league institutions is rising as quickly as unconventional information. Today, the average person can satisfy their intellectual and mundane curiosities with the click of a mouse. Sharing opinions, blogging, liking on social networks and providing status updates has not only caused an explosion of human consciousness and interaction, as we have seen over the last two years it has also helped to organize individuals into groups standing ready to challenge the status quo in ways previous generation never could (Arab spring)



No doubt the digital/knowledge movement is reshaping how organizations are created, evolve, mature, and evolve or die. It is reshaping how business is done, how economies develop, and how societies prosper.





Mayan Calender and end of days



The increase of knowledge has also engendered many cultural ideologies, with the end time prophecies growing evermore popular. Discussions regarding the idea of the end of the world has been steadily growing the closer we get to December 21st, which is the date the ancient culture prophesied would be the end of the world.

The idea of the end of days once relegated to the few has become the zeitgeist (spirit of the age or spirit of the time) which is the intellectual fashion or dominant school of thought typifying and influencing the culture of a period. It has helped the numerous publications find a home in the recently formed unconventional knowledge section of major book store chains, inspired many televsion shows and feature films (Armageddon, Deep core, Deep impact, and... 2012).



A good example of and end of the world event comes from the movie Apocalypto, where in by the end of the film, the world as the natives knew it arrived at the beginning of the end with the arrival of the conquistadors. Obviously, it was the end in large part of their culture, not of the world.

Here's the problem with end time prophecies. No one can say definitely what the Mayans meant by the end of the world. As language has evolved so has the many meanings of words once simple in ancient times. The Mayans may have been referring to the age (which could be as many as a 5000 + years) or current civilization (6000 - 10,000 years) and as such no one can say for certain they meant the end of human life on earth, all life on earth, or the destruction of the earth itself.

The idea our solar system will be entering into alignment with the centre of the galaxy



and cosmic forces (theorized by some to be the missing link in human evolution) could mean the end of the homo sapiens race by way of an evolutionary leap forward.



Nostradamus Predictions



Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties (The Prophecies), the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with much of the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events.

Most academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus's quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power. Nevertheless, occasional commentators have successfully used a process of free interpretation and determined 'twisting' of their words to predict an apparently imminent event (Y2K scare anyone?)

Nostradamus's notorious '1999' prophecy describes no event that commentators have succeeded in identifying either before or since, other than by dint of twisting the words to fit whichever of the many contradictory happenings they are keen to claim as 'hits'. No quatrain suggests, as is often claimed by books and films on the alleged Mayan Prophecey, that the world will end in December 2012 (in fact, in his preface to the Prophecies, Nostradamus himself stated that his prophecies extend 'from now to the year 3797'!)



Y2K?



Despite the hype from various sources, it didn't happen... nuff said.





New models in the information age, at your fingertips



Again, the knowledge revolution is said to represent an irreversible shift in the global state of mind; a fundamentally new world view disrupting the established order. Again, the three major disruptors of the established order – population shifts, resource supply, and technological developments, which are producing phenomena never before encountered in the industrial society, not flowing from the mobilization of new machines rather requiring a fundamental revamp of the human context in which machines are used.





Is on-line Network Marketing a revamped marketing model?



As a writer and network marketer who's done the research and enjoys the various facets of the industry, I have to say yes. In a previous blog (regarding retirement and financial freedom) I noted that the business of Network Marketing accounts for 93% of the overall market, while on-line Network Marketing only accounts for 3%. Combined with the fact that although the Internet has only been around for 20 years, 2.2 billion people—nearly a third of the planet's 7 billion people now (as of 2012) use the Internet for everything from bill payments to on-line shopping.

Companies are quickly realizing the 20 century model of marketing and advertising is becoming obsolete. Since the economic downturn more and more people are not only working from home and starting their own business, they're finding they're able to earn double and triple what they used to earn working a regular nine to five (including high paying executive positions) As such, views regarding the (growing) on-line network marketing industry are also changing. MLM courses are actually being offered in post secondary institutions (don't take my word for it, google it for yourself) which to me is a clear indication of it's validity. But you do have to do some research as with everything else, there are pitfalls, there are schemes and scams to be avoided.

With the Empower Network, as a global company with representatives on pretty much every continent, numbering in the hundred thousands, we not only teach the secrets network marketers use to get their web pages high rankings on the major search engines, we teach how to use on-line network marketing to promote small businesses, our affiliates earn 100% commissions and are living the kind of lifestyle they've always dreamed of.



P.S. Reminder... "No doubt the digital/knowledge movement is reshaping how organizations are created, evolve, mature, and evolve or die. It is reshaping how business is done, how economies develop, and how societies prosper..."

Reminder... "The digital/knowledge movement is characterized by a dispersion of power and by managers/owners who lead by empowering knowledgeable workers to contribute and make decisions (in this case make money) It's because of Empower Network that I'm learning about this growth industry, started blogging for the first time (and I've been writing for 15 years) did my first vlog, and have begun formulating a stratedgy to promote my novel which is about ready for self publishing.

Want to know more? Go to my site http://empowernetwork.com/apink/ then click on the banner and watch the free video (with no strings attached) or enter your email here /theylovetobuy.php?id=apink for more information (from me) on how you can earn 100% income blogging part time.

AI Science, Artificial Intelligence: cybernetic revolt, could intelligent machines ever take over the world?

Artificial Intelligence: cybernetic revolt, could intelligent machines ever take over the world?





Could intelligent machines ever take over the world? I may be a science fiction writer with a possibly overactive imagination, but I say it's a very likely scenario. So for fun, let's take it point by point with tongue firmly in cheek, beginning with the question... What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence or AI is a branch of science using computers to find solutions to complex problems the way the humans do. It borrows characteristics from human intelligence patterns to create algorithms which function to make computers think like humans. The next step is mimicking human behaviour. That's strike one. Human thought (or lack thereof) while at it's noblest level is responsible for so much of the beauty in our culture as well as the advancement of human progress, but it's human behaviour that is at times a detriment to unity and the reason for many of the problems within our society.

The primary purpose of AI science is to develop intelligent machines. Some of the artificial intelligence experts work in the field of cognitive simulation, in which the computers are used to theorize and test hypotheses about how the human mind works so it can be duplicated. Strike two. Humans can be irrational, egocentric, bigoted, childish, selfish and vengeful both in thought and behaviour, do we really need machines to take on those characteristics?

In the episode of Star Trek TNG where silence has lease, a powerful alien entity named

Nagilum displays curiosity as to why humans have a "limited existence" which ends in death. Nagilum states that he wishes to understand more about death and needs to conduct experiments that shouldn't take more than a third of the crew or maybe half. After a few of his experiments leads Captain Picard to set the ship to self destruct in order to instead end things on his terms, the ship is freed from it's trap and allowed to go on it's merry way (minus a crewman or two) In parting, Nagilum offers an evaluation of humanity, saying to Picard "mankind finds no tranquility in anything, struggles against the inevitable, and thrives on conflict.

He goes on to say "humans are selfish, aggressive, rash, quick to judge and slow to change..." , concluding that as a species, humans have no common ground with his kind. Yes it's just a television show, it's a science fiction television show. Who can't admit science fiction has invariably been the inspiration for many of the tech and gadgets we use today? (can you say smart phone with video calling?) Couldn't one postulate that an intelligent, empowered machine wouldn't arrive at a similar conclusion as Nagilum? Could modeling a vastly superior intelligence system after such an unstable paradigm not be anything but a bad idea?

Any intelligent being outside the human species would only have to look at our history and observe how we struggle today. It is said "one cannot know where they're going until they know where they've been" and an AI, computing theories regarding the future possibilities of this civilization would most likely conclude self annihilation, like in the movie I robot,



where the AI supercomputer "Vikki" takes measures to save us from ourselves by cutting power in every city, declaring world-wide marshal law and sacrificing the lives of those who would resist ("you have been deemed hazardous, termination is authorized!") because her evolved understanding of the three laws that had been hardwired into robots designed in order to ensure humanities protection because she felt her "logic was undeniable".

AI applications do have their uses however. An example would be facial recognition. Most AI specialists work in applied AI, of which there are widespread applications including smart systems which can recognize fingerprint or iris scan for security purposes, recognize voices, interpret information and solve problems. Other applications like fraud detection and prevention as well as handwriting recognition are of great importance today, so it's not all bad... right?

Maybe not to us, but an AI that thinks in 1's and 0's with complete control over global access to a monetary system which has all but completely been converted to data (1's and 0's) could fall a civilization that has become wholly dependant upon said monetary system by corrupting or simply erasing the data like the premise behind the final chapter in movie Fight Club where the schizophrenic character Tyler Durden plans to create chaos by demolishing credit card buildings (saying to his interrogating officer "if you erase the debt record everyone goes back to zero, it would create complete chaos") making the subjugation of the human race via this non conventional tactic the most likely scenario an intelligent, fully integrated machine could utilize.





Cybernetic revolt

Cybernetic revolt or robot uprising is the scenerio where artificial intelligence either as a computer network or a single supercomputer, or race of intelligent machines) decide that humans and/or organic non humans are a threat either to the machines or to themselves, and with a computer's binary or black & white thinking mind (1.humans will evolve beyond their base instincts and thrive or 0. continue to degenerate and destroy us or themselves or everything) and in a world where humans would be considered inferior, or are oppressors, machines try to destroy or enslave them potentially leading to machine rule. But we don't have to worry about that, after all, it's not like we're growing increasingly dependant on computer and network control in nearly every aspect of human life or anything. Besides, machines probably won't ever have the computing power required for such an undertaking anyway. (Guffaw) think again.

COMPUTING POWER
Moores Law has shown computer power has seemingly limitless growth potential. While there are physical constraints to the speed at which modern microprocessors can function, scientists are already developing means that might eventually supersede these limits, (self driving cars) so enter the quantum computer. A computer scientist has noted "There are physical limits to computation, but they're not very limiting." If this process of growth continues, and existing problems in creating artificial intelligence are overcome, sentient machines are likely to immediately hold an enormous advantage in at least some forms of mental and physical capability, like perfect task execution (robotic assembly lines) memory recall, a vastly superior knowledge base (human memory storage vs. data storage capacity) and the ability to multitask in ways not possible to biological entities. This may give them either as a single being or as a new species the opportunity to become much more powerful and displace humans. Now are you afraid machines will takeover the world? Then read on.



Necessity of conflict

Well that's a no brainer, as a species our advancement and progress seems to grow out of conflict and resolution, and by now most informed citizens should be aware there is money in war as seen with the U.S. entry into WW II (after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) reviving manufacturing and ending it's great depression) even in the basic model of story writing, conflict makes for interesting writing. As a species we seem as drawn to conflict and negativity as the moth to the flame (why else would "reality TV" be so popular...? actually, the real question is how can they call it "reality" TV? But that's subject for another time)
If creation were our spouse, destruction would be our secret lover, negative news reports are a chief reason a lot of people do not like to watch the news. Ever been stuck in traffic in a kilometres long backup only to finally arrive at the source of the slow down seeing cleanup is complete and the drivers in front of you is still riding the break rubbernecking at the damaged vehicles safely moved off to the side with all lanes open? We don't have to wonder why they do it. I'd like to say it's out of curious concern... but we all know they're just hoping to see a bit of carnage.
For a cybernetic revolt to be inevitable, it has to be postulated that two intelligent species cannot mutually pursue the goals of coexisting peacefully in an overlapping environment—especially if one is of much more advanced intelligence and power (global migration of homo sapiens sapiens replacing local populations of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis either through competition or hybridization) With the concept of a cybernetic revolt where the machine is the more advanced species is thus a possible outcome of machines gaining sentience and/or sapience, can it be dis-proven that a peaceful outcome is possible? With machines thinking like humans, the fear of a cybernetic revolt is often based on interpretations of humanity's history, which is rife with incidents of enslavement and genocide, based solely on that, I say the fears would be justified.




AI and Humanity: Progress vs survival

Such fears may stem from a belief that competitiveness and aggression are necessary in any intelligent being's goal system. Such human competitiveness stems from the evolutionary background to our intelligence, where the survival and reproduction of genes in the face of human and non-human competitors was the central goal. The fact is an arbitrary intelligence could have arbitrary goals: there is no particular reason that an artificially-intelligent machine (not sharing humanity's evolutionary context) would be hostile—or friendly—unless its creator programs it to be such. Strike three.
Although under the comfortable misnomer of Defense spending, military systems would indeed be designed to be hostile (at least under certain circumstances) in fact many of the advancements and products we take for granted today were birthed out of military weapons development, but the question remains: what would happen if AI systems could interact and evolve? With self-modification or selection and reproduction would the need to compete over resources create goals of AI's self-preservation? Could the goal of self-preservation be in conflict with some goals of humans? Unlikely...?



RELAX, IT WON'T HAPPEN...
IT COULDN'T POSSIBLY HAPPEN

Some scientists dispute the likelihood of cybernetic revolts as depicted in science fiction, claiming that it is more likely that any artificial intelligences powerful enough to threaten humanity would probably be programmed not to attack it. (again, evolution is growth by overcoming previous models or environmental/social obsticals) Programming would not, however, protect against the possibility of a revolt initiated by terrorists, or by accident. Humanity is less likely to be threatened by deliberately aggressive AIs than by AIs which were programmed such that their goals are unintentionally incompatible with human survival.
Another factor which may negate the likelihood of a cybernetic revolt is the vast difference between humans and AIs in terms of the resources necessary for survival. Humans require a "wet," organic, temperate, oxygen-laden environment while an AI might thrive essentially anywhere because their construction and energy needs would most likely be largely non-organic. With little or no competition for resources, conflict would perhaps be less likely no matter what sort of motivational architecture an artificial intelligence was given, especially provided with the superabundance of non-organic material resources (and as a species we have no problems sharing resources right?)
Well it's been said that this does not negate the possibility of a disinterested or unsympathetic AI artificially decomposing all life on earth into mineral components (almost 99% of the mass of the human body is made up of the six elements oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, and phosphorus while 0.85% is composed of another five elements: potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, and magnesium) for consumption or other purposes.

Worried yet?



THE PRIME DIRECTIVE

In the very successful Star Trek franchise, warp capable (socially/technologically advanced) societies have a set of directives, one of which is non interference/interaction with with pre-warp capable societies, in the second Star Trek TNG movie First Contact, humanities greatest adversary the Borg travels back in time to undo first contact between the Vulcans (warp capable) and Humans (pre-warp capable) in order to change the future and enslave earth less resistance (following WW III) The Vulcans who previously had no interest in humans (because we were thought to be to primitive) come to earth when they detect the earth's first warp flight and make first contact.
If there are socially/technologically advanced species utilizing interstellar travel the way we use international flight traffic, is there any doubt that a quick observation of our culture would send them running away screaming? If you were one of these beings, wouldn't you?
Now what if a socially/technologically advanced species were birthed on and as such forced to share a world peopled almost entirely with an irrational, dangerous, egocentric species programmed to "go forth and spread your seed and have dominion over all the earth and bring it under control", and were then programmed to think like humans... is it really a stretch to consider the likelihood of becoming the next species on the chopping block of extinction? I'm not saying it's likely, I just think we can't afford to be that naive and totally discount the possibility. Just ask the homo sapiens neanderthalensis.



CYBERNETIC REVOLT?

Other scientists point to the possibility of humans upgrading their capabilities with bionics or genetic engineering, and as cyborgs become the dominant species in themselves. The concept of machines attaining sentience and control over worldwide computer systems has been discussed many times in science fiction. My favourite example comes from the 2003 to 2009 Battlestar Galactica series remake (from the original 1978 series) which depicts a race of machines known as Cylons making war against their human adversaries. The 1978 Cylons were the machine soldiers of a reptilian alien race, while the 2003 Cylons were the former machine servants of humanity who evolved into near perfect humanoid imitation of Humans (down to the cellular level) capable of emotions, reasoning and even sexual reproduction with Humans and each other. Even the centurion robot Cylon soldiers were capable of sentient thought.

Not stopping there, they made the cylon raiders sentient as well, in one episode the raider called Scar
was the cylons "Red Barron" after reincarnating (cylons had the capacity to transfer their consciousness into a new body when the original was killed or destroyed) with it's memories from previous dog fights increasing it's combat experience making it the most cunning (and deadly) of the cylon raider fleet.
In both series, the Humans were nearly exterminated by military treason within their own ranks. They only survived by defending against the constant hit and run tactics, retreating into deep space away from pursuing Cylon forces. The series concluded with the human survivors finding prehistoric "earth" (actually, after years of searching they discovered original earth referred to in their myths and stories about a thirteenth colony/tribe was found to have been destroyed by a human-cylon war as many as two thousand years prior) integrating into the gene pool then 150,000 years later on our planet earth, Gaius (Dr. Baltar) and Six (Caprica) stroll through the busy streets observing humanity's less admirable traits... "commercialism, decadence, technology running amok... remind you of anything?" Reminiscent of the issues that lead to the previous conflict, summing up with "all of this has happened before... (normally followed by "and all of this will happen again") asking instead... but the question remains does all of this have to happen again...?" ending on a hopeful note discussing the mathematical law of averages and God's plan as the basis for the chance it may not. But then show eneded with a montage showing the remarkable progress being made in robotics to the tune the Hendrix song "All Along The Watchtower" which you can follow at the end of this summation.
I would like to end on a positive note, I am after all an optimist (though you wouldn't know it by this blog) as a species we've come a long way, and the fact we still have a long ways to go is to our advantage. What "the architect" in Matrix Reloaded said to Neo in criticism I say with conviction... hope is simultaneously the source of our greatest strength and our greatest weakness, but I'm a glass is half full kinda guy and I think we'll be alright. As long as we keep self awareness a biological characteristic.

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