I wrote this thought piece in April of 2000 at the very beginning of my consideration of the implications of technology for society and globalization. At the time, I was focused primarily on classical literature, but had been exposed to some discussions about technology at University of Illinois. The essay is erroneously titled \u201cThe Economy of Information.\u201d It would be tempting to find a new title, but that act would create a historical inaccuracy. This essay is what led to much of my writings about the internet.<\/p>\n
Computer Networks Recapitulate the Human Mind that Gave them Birth<\/p>\n
The most interesting, and most powerful confluence in technology is the parallel process of genetic research and computer chip design. Perhaps the more appropriate terms are silicon & carbon engineering. At the very same time that the human genome is being mapped out and a one-to-one correspondence between the specific gene and the trait is imagined, increasingly minute wafer fabrication at a microscopic level is conducted at the same scale as the process of DNA replication. Both carbon and silicon engineering at the microscopic level are developing in parallel. Oddly, silicon engineering seems more and more like carbon engineering (DNA) because unlike previous technologies, like the sewing machine, or the automobile, today\u2019s chip could not be readily replaced if the supporting technology for production disappeared. \u00a0That is to say, if you destroyed all parts factories and research laboratories in the automobile industry, you could still produce a vehicle rapidly if you knew the principles of manufacturing. If we lost the factories and data behind a modern silicon wafer, however, we could not reduplicate because the previous generation of computer needed to design it, as the generation before that one was employed before it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It fact, it is quite possible that at a future date, silicon engineering and carbon engineering will consist of the manipulation at a nano level of structures that humans are incapable of creating themselves. In the case of silicon, the technical path that led to the development of devices may be lost along the way.<\/p>\n
We are inclined to think of the silicon chip as something artificial and the carbon DNA as something natural, but as my professor at Harvard Stephen Owen once remarked, \u201cman has yet to succeed at being unnatural.\u201d The conceptual walls that we set up between \u201cnatural\u201d and \u201cartificial\u201d processes are but cultural field posts and in many cases quite misleading. Why cannot we see the process by which man creates the silicon chip as part of a natural evolution?<\/p>\n
There is a significant parallel between the patterns of interaction that take place within the brain and those we observe on a larger scale within society as computers and advanced telecommunications grow into a complex network. We could even postulate that society itself, as it evolves as a result of the evolution of computer communications will follow many of the basic patterns we find within the brain itself, creating a recapitulation of the physiology of the human brain at a macro level.<\/p>\n
A direct analogy between the functions of networks and the function of the brain itself may help to elucidate what exactly it implied in this statement. Such an analogy may also help to explain some of the rapid changes taking place in our society today.<\/p>\n
Let us consider the process whereby information is transmitted and impacts the brain on the biological side.<\/p>\n
At the most basic level, all activity in the brain is initiated by the DNA within the brain cell itself. The DNA are unchanging (or change very slowly) and lie at the bottom of the ladder. They are the most fundamental elements but also the most invisible. DNA determines the production of enzymes which convey messages to and fro within each individual cell thereby initiating activity. Cell function results from the transmission of enzymes and other materials. The parts of the cell go about their basic tasks by following such coded commands. Those brain cells in turn send electronic messages to each other that can (in most cases) serve as a means of relaying information or commands. Those transmissions between cells form in turn into complex alternating waves and patterns of behavior. It is within those waves of electrical impulse, and NOT in the brain cells themselves, that the thought takes place. The patterns in the electronic transmissions, and not necessarily just the transmission itself, are the medium in which thoughts and memories are written and the visible functions we associate with the brain can be found.<\/p>\n
Now let us look at the realm of computer science and the hierarchy to be found there. The important point is what will happen as certain evolving technologies become taken for granted-as technologies develops to the point that what was once the focus of attention becomes but a supporting invisible part of the larger structure of artificial intelligence? Where will the new focus fall?<\/p>\n
Hardware is the basic material, the physical component that makes up a computer. It is the equivalent of DNA–the most basic part, but also the most invisible part of the equation. Already many aspects of hardware, the making of a chip, are based on a pyramid of accumulated knowledge–chips designed by computers employing the previous generation of chips designed by computers employing a previous generation of chips-back into the distant past. As technology advances, the actual task of designing hardware will fade into the background because the computer itself will design it and such designing will be taken for granted. DNA is a good analogy for hardware.<\/p>\n
Software is like the enzymes in a cell: it is the material by which the hardware it made active–and the two aspects have a symbiotic relationship. Software is presently driving the world of computers at their stage in evolution. That stage is itself, however, only temporary.<\/p>\n
The larger element in the world of A.I. is the integrated system of software that works together to solve tasks. It will not be long before the issue will not be what software one owns, but rather what the configuration of different software is and how they work together to accomplish the goal.<\/p>\n
The next step is the connections between computers that is developing right now. This change is most exciting because suddenly it is possible to use one\u2019s computer to access a variety of websites all over the world. Such activity is the equivalent to the transmissions between cells in the brain.<\/p>\n
I would argue that there is yet another level in the development of artificial intelligence that has not come to the forefront, but will come to the forefront in the near future, and that is the importance of patterns of transmission between the computers in communication with each other. I do not know if I can do a good job explaining what I mean as I am not an expert.<\/p>\n
I can imagine a day when the focus of attention, the site at which the world of artificial intelligence operates, is not the computer itself, nor is it the simple access to a website or another computer. Rather it is the intelligence and data that exists virtually within the complex changing patterns in the transmissions between networks in the same manner that the thoughts of humans do not reside in the brain cells but rather in the complex electrical transmission patterns that they generate.<\/p>\n
Now the field of education in which we are engaged will increase dramatically in importance in the future. The logic is as follows for this assumption is as follows:<\/p>\n
Hardware is the skeleton beneath the skin. Software is what runs on top of the hardware. Once software is taken for granted, it is the ability to communicate effectively and quickly with other computers, or websites that becomes important. Once such communication becomes an assumed state for us and we do not even have to think about how to connect or how fast a modem is, the next issue will be developing the most effective means of supplying information. As everything else falls into the background, quick and well-organized information retrieval becomes primary. Once information itself can be readily supplied, it will be the field that we now refer to as education, the human process by which information is evaluated, subject to value judgment and assessed within the human cultural tradition that will become all important. When that happens, the university, or other entity will take on much greater importance. The nature of the university will of course change as a result.<\/p>\n
__________________<\/p>\n
Underlying Principles for the University<\/strong><\/p>\n
I<\/p>\n
The next generation of the Internet will bring far more reliable and user-friendly means of communicating information. As a result a thick binding tissue will develop between institutions involved in the systematic application of Internet connections. The implication is that the effectiveness of one’s hierarchy of connections, and its user-friendliness will determine the status of the university more than actual physical installations on campus. The Internet and video conference ties to other universities of scale abroad will make the difference to the university. This truth has not been realized, but it will soon be apparent.<\/p>\n
II<\/p>\n
When we visualize the university, we should imagine a mirror that has been broken into hundreds of shards and lies spread across the floor. Each splinter shines brightly and the total is most impressive. The important point, I feel, is what can be achieved if each of the fragments of glass is tilted ever so slightly. Each fragment does not have to actually be moved, or transplanted, just propped up in one direction or another. Once this process is achieved, the light reflected from each piece will converge on a single point, a single goal. Then the light reflected by those many fragments will be powerful enough to vaporize the dense stone. Imagine if we could add the light reflected by fragments from other institutions to that beam.<\/p>\n
III<\/p>\n
There are figures that make great fortunes in real estate by pursuing the following strategy. They look at maps of the city over a period of twenty or thirty years, figure out where the business and residential centers are, then interpolate as to how the city will expand and transform over the next five to ten years. Once they have mapped out their speculations as to what will happen to the population in the near future, they buy farmland in those areas that look like they are marked for development. Once the farmland is bought, it can be rented back to farmers, and the proper moment must be awaited. We should plan for the university in precisely this manner.<\/p>\n
IV<\/p>\n
Video conferencing will make teaching over the net far more legitimate and convincing in the next few years. Internet technology is rapidly moving towards a “just like actually being there” state. It is not there yet, but this is the time to approach the technology systematically. Video conferencing will also become a central part of the internet as well during that period. This moment is the best moment to enter into the field in a systematic manner.<\/p>\n
V<\/p>\n
Time zones can be a problem, but asynchronous learning can be as effective, or more effective, than live teaching. Asynchronous discussions punctuated with live video conferencing can achieve all required goals. Written responses can be far better than classroom comments. It is just a matter of refining the technique.<\/p>\n
VII<\/p>\n
Internet connections can be viewed as connective fiber tying together institutions. Pairing up specialists at different universities, as that connective fiber grows thicker can lead to a unique international academic community.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I wrote this thought piece in April of 2000 at the very beginning of my consideration of the implications of technology for society and globalization. At the time, I was focused primarily on classical literature, but had been exposed to some discussions about technology at University of Illinois. The essay is erroneously titled \u201cThe Economy … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9296425,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[786,68971,49161],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1113","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-essays","category-international-relations","category-technology-and-society"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9296425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1113"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1113\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1113"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1113"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/green-liberty.org\/circlesandsquares\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1113"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}