Is 'the cloud' becoming the 'SkyNet'?

[mitzevo]

I was just thinking, pondering really, about the cloud and what it could become in the not so distant future 8 ~ 16 years from now.

We (well some of us) store a lot of our data in/on(?) the cloud -- a giant web/network of computers, servers, and other hardware devices.

If we continue to store all of our information; sort (tag, categorize, prioritize, etc) it, and store it on "the cloud" / internet, other than our own brains/memory, this makes our data easily "navigate-able" or understandable by humans and also computers/AI who somehow gets access to this data.)

More and more people are getting online each year, and more and more people are buying and using smartphones -- not only are we storing all types of data in the cloud, we are also quite easily located via our constant connections to the network, the grid, the overture, the omnivore, the echolon, yadda yadda ya.

We should be careful how well we organize our data. It's basically providing a roadmap to who ever is access that data into how you think and operate.

What do you think? I'm interested in hearing other peoples thoughts and opinions on this matter.

Could the cloud (i.e., cloud branded services) eventually evolve into interconnected clouds, which would them finally form the overall, mega ultimate cloudnet/skynet?

SkyDrive anyone?  

[mitzevo]

sorry, forgot something pretty intriguing: the grid, the matrix, ...

[Renegade]

I wouldn't worry about an AI going all postal on the planet quite yet.

But I certainly wouldn't put much faith in the cloud the way things are now. It's nothing about the technology, but entirely about how it is being used/abused. It's not the tool - it's the people wielding the tool that is the cause for concern.

Right now the way companies and governments operate, it's borderline insane to trust them with any information that they don't absolutely 110% need in order to provide you with some service.

Big Data now is far bigger than most people realise. It's pretty far into the dangerous zone now.

When your health insurance provider suddenly hikes your premiums because they got information from the super market that you shop at because you use the super market's loyalty card, or through some other means, well, this is worrisome. (Please forgive any understatement on my part.)

[40hz]

Nothing so dramatic.

More like the imposition of an arbitrary and unrestrained automated kennel keeper who drags its dogs around on a very short leash, and punishes with impunity any signs of disobedience or spirit.

If it succeeds, it will be the first step in the eradication of what most of us think it means to be human. The high price paid in exchange for the imagined peace and safety of the beehive or termite colony.

Welcome insects! Your self-appointed overlords have been expecting you.

[Renegade]

Nothing so dramatic.

More like the imposition of an arbitrary and unrestrained automated kennel keeper who drags its dogs around on a very short leash, and punishes with impunity any signs of disobedience or spirit.

If it succeeds, it will be the first step in the eradication of what most of us think it means to be human. The high price paid in exchange for the imagined peace and safety of the beehive or termite colony.

Welcome insects! Your self-appointed overlords have been expecting you.

-40hz (September 09, 2013, 10:06 AM)

Hahahaha~! And here I thought *I* was the resident "conspiracy theorist" here at DC~!  

(For the record, I think you're an optimist! )

[Stoic Joker]

I wouldn't worry about an AI going all postal on the planet quite yet.

-Renegade (September 09, 2013, 09:49 AM)

Right, the real machines are too late. But as 40 eludes to above Artificial Intelligence doesn't have to mean it a physical nuts and bolts machine. There are plenty of other "Artificially" Intelligent "machines" out there that are already in position to strike.

-------------------------------------//---------------------

@40hz - All Hail Lord bizz-buzz-buzz!


...So this is how democracy dies...to thunderous applause.

[40hz]

Nothing so dramatic.

More like the imposition of an arbitrary and unrestrained automated kennel keeper who drags its dogs around on a very short leash, and punishes with impunity any signs of disobedience or spirit.

If it succeeds, it will be the first step in the eradication of what most of us think it means to be human. The high price paid in exchange for the imagined peace and safety of the beehive or termite colony.

Welcome insects! Your self-appointed overlords have been expecting you.

-40hz (September 09, 2013, 10:06 AM)

Hahahaha~! And here I thought *I* was the resident "conspiracy theorist" here at DC~!  

(For the record, I think you're an optimist! )

-Renegade (September 09, 2013, 10:56 AM)

Oh...I'm up on most of the conspiracy theories out there even if I don't much credit 99.9% of them. And I've probably been responsible for the deliberate propagation of more than a few back in my counter-culture days. Operation Mindf***, y'know? All Hail Discordia! Kallisti!

Optimist/Pessimist? Hmm...

"The words of the foolish, and the words of the wise, look both the same to Discordia's eyes."



 

[wraith808]

...So this is how democracy dies...to thunderous applause.

-Stoic Joker (September 09, 2013, 11:06 AM)

I always did like that quote.  It's one of the only good pieces of dialogue that Lucas has ever written.

[TaoPhoenix]

The "Cloud" is sorta a Big Mainframe in the sky.

I'd put bets on the NSA's surveillance getting out of control first! Because that actively *is* processing data with intent to label people as Bad People. So then one too many automated efficiencies later...

Boom!

[J-Mac]

I have read recent articles stating that "cloud" providers stand to lose $35 billion because of the Snowden releases. (Talk about shooting the messenger!)

I want to know - who the hell makes up these estimates?! I spent many years preparing financial estimates and I know that one was pulled directly out of someone's rectum!   

Jim

[40hz]

I spent many years preparing financial estimates and I know that one was pulled directly out of someone's rectum!

-J-Mac (September 09, 2013, 03:56 PM)

+1! That makes two of us.

[Stoic Joker]

I want to know - who the hell makes up these estimates?! I spent many years preparing financial estimates and I know that one was pulled directly out of someone's rectum!

-J-Mac (September 09, 2013, 03:56 PM)

Chalk it up to spin. They're just trying to create the appearance of economical loss/damage to soften the grassroots support for Snowden's shenanigans. Since the "National Security" angle hasn't sold worth a damn, they're switching to a think of the children approach. Borrowing a page from the media mafia's play book they are.

[Renegade]

I don't know enough about the market size there to comment. But, it being total BS would be pretty much in line with everything else I read in the MSM.