"KILL ALL ROBOTS"
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"...Fire Sale!"
I am now posting on >>>> "Book of Days" (sidneyinhell.blogspot.com) This due to tech problems with Blogsplot. The ot...
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"...stunned" 1944 Americans in stunned horror. This as they see 2019 Americans support Nazis. -
I am now posting on >>>> "Book of Days" (sidneyinhell.blogspot.com) This due to tech problems with Blogsplot. The ot... -
Today is the Eve of Christmas Eve. Luke 2:9-12And, lo, the Angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about the...
People who are excited about robots and drones and AI need to go on a one-way trip to Mars.
ReplyDeleteI think we've had about enough of Progress. Its benefits stopped, I would say, some time after the advent of the washing machine (a great boon if you've ever had to do laundry by hand). I feel the point of diminishing returns arrived with the automated teller machine, which eliminated millions of jobs in return for rather trivial convenience.
Notice that AI devices, both existing and proposed, are always aimed at doing away with blue collar workers: truckers, taxi drivers, checkout clerks - never at replacing executive staff or white collar workers, many of whose jobs could easily be automated. Funny about that.
We've now had a good 35 years of widespread digital technology. Has anyone noticed a significant improvement in the quality of our lives during that time? I certainly haven't. There are some perks - easy research, self-publishing for authors, convos like this. But that's about it. As I mentioned before, when the world goes 5G, I won't be upgrading.
Z
OK Z I'll take the bait.
ReplyDeleteWhat is 5G? I haven't the first clue what that is.
Should I?
Padraig
5G is what the technowonks are currently hyping as the Next Big Thing. The acronym stands for "fifth generation," meaning the next phase or generation of the internet. I don't know what the first four generations are supposed to have been. It's touted as a sort of massive "upgrade" of the web, and is supposed to provide much faster wifi access than is currently available.
ReplyDeleteIt is to do this using ultra high frequency wireless transmission. Basically we're talking microwaves. These require a higher density of cell towers than currently exists, and the transmitters are to be installed on a wide scale starting in 2020. The FCC has recently passed regulations requiring municipalities to let tech companies (ATT, Verizon, etc.) install these ultra-high-frequency transmitters at a much lower charge than is customary, so that some cities may actually lose money on the deal. Municipalities are barred from passing or enforcing local ordinances to ban the devices.
Here's the thing: quite a few scientists have pointed out that nobody knows what are the potential effects of long-term exposure to high frequency radiation on human health, to say nothing of the effects on other organisms. There hasn't been anything like enough testing to establish that it's safe; and in fact there is quite a bit of research to suggest that it is *not* safe.
The various industries involved are wetting themselves with excitement over the potential profits, and are employing publicity and arguments similar to those employed by the tobacco industry back in the day to convince everyone that only silly superstitious duffers could possibly imagine that smoking is anythong but perfectly safe.
There *are* some towns that have managed to buck the regulation against banning this tech. Of course they're all wealthy communities like Palm Springs, so the rich will be exempt. The rest of us will have to bend over and welcome Progress with open... well, you get the idea.
I think it's high time we take a cue from Nancy Reagan, and launch a public service campaign whose motto will be: "5G? Just Say No!"
Z
Kill All Robots!!!
ReplyDelete