AS SCREEN villains go, you won鈥檛 find any more sinister than a dark-hearted
computer with a mind of its own. From the self-aware defence computers that
enslaved the human race in the 1960s sci-fi classic The Forbin Project
to the anti-heroes of the Terminator movies, intelligent machines are
undoubtedly things to be wary of.
So is it time to start worrying? Around the world, groups of researchers are
planning to give intelligence not just to one or two computers, but to the
millions that make up the Internet. It is, they say, the first step towards
turning the Web into a worldwide brain.
The most plausible notion of the 鈥済lobal brain鈥� probably comes from Francis
Heylighen of the Free University of Brussels. He likens Web pages to neurons,
and hyperlinks to the synapses between them. Just as in the human cortex, the
synapses of his global brain would strengthen the more they are used, and wither
if they are not. Add to this a series of programs for interpreting what people
really mean when they type their awkward questions into search engines, together
with smart agents to find the answers, and Heylighen sees the potential for
real, albeit alien, intelligence
(see 鈥淕lobal brain鈥�).
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Amazing abilities would 鈥渆merge鈥� from this simple set-up. It would present
everyone with their own configuration of the Web, customised according to how
they use it. It would suggest web pages that it reckons they might like to
peruse. The sheer complexity of the brain and the vast amount of data it
contains would allow it to discover links between things that no human has ever
found.
Doomsayers see these developments heading straight for a catastrophe of
Hollywood proportions. The reality, however, is far more subtle. The global
brain will undoubtedly change our lives, but it won鈥檛 be a domineering or
malevolent force.
While the global brain would be capable of having new 鈥渢houghts鈥�, Heylighen
argues that it would not have a sense of self, a will, or other trappings
associated with consciousness. People who think that such a complex system would
generate these traits are expecting too much from the notion of 鈥渆mergence鈥�.
And, in any case, the technology for creating the global brain will be added
piecemeal and can be changed if the organism starts to show signs of deviancy.
So it would be prevented from gaining the defining characteristics of a screen
villain.
That鈥檚 not to say the global brain is all a great idea. It would compile a
detailed record of how you use the Web鈥攑otentially valuable commercial
data. That would not be so bad if you spend your days scanning research papers,
but those who frequent porn sites might not be so keen to have their habits
revealed.
Presumably, companies will think up ways to make both Web users and website
owners pay for 鈥渋ntelligent鈥� services. This could be divisive, not only by
excluding the poor from the global brain but also in, say, the selection and
ordering of websites returned from a search. Neither of these ideas is
new鈥攑oor people are already excluded from much in society, while a glance
at the Yellow Pages will reveal how paying more can gain companies a
higher profile. The divisions could simply be reinforced as the global brain
takes shape.
Will this creation control us in other ways? Control is perhaps the wrong
word. Much new technology changes the way we live and work, but we hardly call
it 鈥渃ontrol鈥�. The arrival of railways in past centuries created suburbs around
cities as people migrated out along the tracks.
Ironically, in the past few years, the Internet has started to revitalise
some of these dormitory towns as more people work from home and use local health
clubs and cafes. E-mail has radically changed the way we do business and
communicate with one another. But we don鈥檛 think of any of these things as
controlling us. In many ways they give us more freedom by providing us with new
options.
In a similar way, as the global brain creeps up on us we will adapt to it. As
it gets better at giving us the information we really want, it could have a big
impact on people who make their living by selling expert advice. Likewise, data
miners, epidemiologists and journalists, who make their living by spotting
unexpected connections between things, had better keep their wits about
them.
Of course, in a few years, we may decide that the global brain really does
need a sense of self and purpose. We could give it a representation of its
structure and the tools to improve itself. Then we really could be dealing with
a conscious global creation with its own agenda.
Now there鈥檚 an idea for a sci-fi movie鈥�
