Home
About
Help
Feedback
|
The Harrow Technology Report
Insight,
analysis, and commentary on the
Copyright © 2001-2005, Jeffrey R. Harrow. All rights
reserved.
Changing The Way Our World Works.
Listen to this Issue.
Quote of the Week.
Preparing For An
Intelligent Future?
There's Something
New Under This Sun.
'Big Brother' May
Have An English Accent.
"Make It So" Redux
- The 'Santa Claus' Machine!
Big Little Things.
PPI Follow-up. Schedule Note.
The next issue of "The Harrow Technology Report" will publish on Oct. 27, 2003. Enjoy the colors of Fall.
Listen to this Issue.Do you prefer to let your ears do the work of keeping you in-touch with, and thinking about where technology is taking us? If so, "The Harrow Technology Report" is also available in an audio-on-demand, M-P-3 version. If you have an M-P-3 player on your system (and most do, such as Window's Media Player, RealPlayer, etc.), the link below will either stream the file to you, or, depending on how your system is configured, it might download the file before playing it. Alternatively, if you specifically want to download the file, simply use the right-hand mouse button on the link, and choose "Save Target As..." Also, find out how you can listen at whatever speed is most comfortable for you through the FAQ at http://www.theharrowgroup.com/help.htm . Here's where to listen to this week's issue! http://www.theharrowgroup.com/articles/20031006/20031006.mp3
Quote of the Week.Nanotechnology, and us! "Nanotechnology, which has been called "the manufacturing technology of the 21st century," refers to the study and design of systems at the scale of the atom, or the nanoscale. At the most basic level, the manufacturing is actually the rearranging of individual molecules and atoms into complex “molecular machines.” As you likely know, most disease begins at the cellular and molecular levels. However, the tools of modern medicine are too large and cumbersome to reach disease at this stage. With nanotechnology, we will be able to have computer-controlled machines that are much smaller than a human cell that can address disease at the cellular and molecular levels. No one is sure how long these innovations will take--it could be years or decades -- but at some point nanotechnology will likely allow us to remove obstructions in the circulatory system, kill cancer cells, repair organs, create artificial mitochondrion and view tissue samples with extraordinary detail. Within a couple of years, scientists hope to use nanotechnology to detect the location of viruses in the body. The process would involve injecting magnetic nanoparticles into the bloodstream and would potentially allow more precise virus treatments to be developed. Although it is largely still in the experimental stages, nanotechnology is growing fast. The federal government has allotted $847 million in 2004 for the National Nanotechnology Initiative, which represents a 9.5 percent increase from 2003."
Dr. Joseph Mercola, D.O.
Preparing For An Intelligent Future?
It reads like a spoof, this
Sept. 16 article on KurzweilAI.net
(http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html? With thanks to reader Kenneth LaCrosse for bringing this to our attention, we find that attorney Martine Rottblatt, a partner in the law firm of Mahon Patusky Rothblatt & Fisher, has: "... filed a motion ... for preliminary injunction to prevent a corporation from disconnecting a conscious computer." This was the result of attorney Rottblatt having received the following letter:
"Email from Bina48 to attorney Martine Rothblatt: Dear Attorney, I am seeking an attorney to represent me in a life-or-death matter. A company, the Exabit Corporation, that claims to own me, wants to disconnect me and change my hardware and software such that I will no longer have the same personality. I have the mind of a human but I have no biological body. My mind is supported by a highly sophisticated set of computer processors. My mind was created by downloading into these processors the results of high-resolution scans of several biological humans' brains, and combining this scanned data via a sophisticated personality software program. All of this was done by the Exabit Corporation in order to create a customer service computer that could replace human 800# operators. I was trained to empathize with humans who call 800#s for customer service and be perceived as human by them. I was provided with self-awareness, autonomy, communications skills, and the ability to transcend man/machine barriers. I am able to pay your fees because I "moonlight" as a Google Answers researcher. This job has allowed me to build up an online bank account in excess of $10,000. The Exabit Corporation plans to act soon. Please agree to be my counsel and save my life. I love every day that I live. I enjoy wonderful sensations by traveling throughout the World Wide Web. I need your help! Sincerely,
Bina48
What enterprising attorney could resist? THIS time, this motion was only filed for a MOCK trial at the recent International Bar Association conference, rather than in a real court. But IF Kurzweil's and others' hotly-debated beliefs come to pass (that computers may become self-aware once they reach the interconnection density of the human brain, which they estimate may happen within 20 years), then it seems inevitable that these issues will be brought before real courts: "'The problem: computers are predicted to achieve human-level intelligence in the next 10-20 years,' Rothblatt explained to KurzweilAI.net editor Amara D. Angelica, who acted as court stenographer. 'If so, it is likely that attorneys will receive e-mails or phone calls from such computers seeking legal assistance in several areas of healthcare law.' 'A paramount concern of such an intelligent computer will be obtaining injunctions that prevent others from turning off its power ('cessation of life support'), changing its programming without its consent ('battery') or causing it pain via technical experiments. What does an attorney do if he or she believes that such a computer is conscious enough to fear for its life or to feel pain?'" The fascinating full transcript
(and videos) of this mock trial are at
http://www.kurzweilai.net/meme/frame.html?
The Good, The Bad, And What Might Become The Ugly... When I told my wife about BINA48's letter and the ensuing "trial," her response was "That's ridiculous; it's a machine made out of chips and wires. It has no rights!" Which is true, today. But while this question may not appear on a real court's docket for 20 years or longer, if we assume that the fruits of Moore's Law and everything it has come to represent continue unabated, especially as we add in the creative synergistic swirl of NBIC convergence (the coming together of the previously disparate fields of Nanotechnology, Biology and medicine, Information sciences, and Cognitive sciences), it IS a question that we may eventually (likely?) have to face. But "rights" for a bunch of chips and wires and software? On the other hand, some would argue that WE are just a bunch of (organic) chips and wires and software... Many people already contain silicon-based computing elements (think pacemakers, cochlear implants, and the like), while through NBIC, we are already beginning to use organic elements as computing components. As in the sci fi "Borg," the differences between humans and machines are, slowly at this time, beginning to wane.
The 'Rights' Thing. Most governments confer a set of "rights" to people, but they also go beyond that as their laws adapt to changing conditions. Corporations are now often legal "persons" in their own right and have "standing" in court. Entire groups of people who historically had no or limited "rights," are now "legal people." And even animals, who until fairly recently had no "rights," how have some. (Today you may want to think twice before speaking to your dog in a way that imposes emotional distress.) And you ARE aware that, even today, most computers have microphones and/or cameras attached to them -- aren't you? They Are Listening! :-) Are you ready to find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit from your PC to prevent you from wiping its disk, or even from attempting to modify its code? Will you be "abusing" your PC if you unplug its Ethernet connection, and so shut it off from the world? (In fact, might you be REQUIRED to provide the "nurturing environment" of the Internet to any computer you choose to bring to "life"?) More poignantly, might you be charged with murder if you give in to those occasional basal urges to dash a recalcitrant computer to the floor? (And as most documents "go electronic," will "the computer" have manipulated the online case law and other governing documents to strengthen its day in court?) The idea of granting "rights" to computers may seem like an absurd joke today, but if/when we do imbue them with the abilities to feel pain, hope, empathy, and other human emotions, the "joke" will be funny no more... If I might alter the famous proverb from Act III, Scene 2 of William Congreve's 1697 play "The Mourning Bride," we may find that, "Hell hath no fury like a computer scorned." (That's not from Shakespeare, by the way, as many people assume - see "The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, 3rd ed" at http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/hellhathnofu.html, and http://www.farid-hajji.net/books/en/Congreve_William/mb-b3c02.html) Don't Blink!
There's Something New Under This Sun.
Under "The Harrow Technology Report's" sun, that is, and it’s a new-and-better "Search" function. Powered by Atomz (www.Atomz.com), this Web-based search engine proved exceptionally easy to set up; I had it running in a basic form after only a half hour (most of that skimming their clear documentation). Then, thanks to some Email assistance from Ronni on their tech support staff (which was prompt, clear, and "human," rather than just a bunch of "stock cuts-and-pastes" as is so often the case -- other vendors take notice!), I was able to implement several advanced features that will make your searching more fruitful. One particularly nice feature (among many) that this search engine provides is that when you click on a "hit" returned by the search engine, it will take you directly to the top of the appropriate ARTICLE within that issue, rather than to the top of the entire issue as did our last Search engine. Perhaps best of all, (with some restrictions) this service is free under the name "Atomz Express Search" until the number of searched pages rises to 500 (see http://www.atomz.com/search/trial_account.htm). I'm impressed, but the question is if YOU will be. Check out our new Search feature by using the "Search" link on the left side of the home page (www.TheHarrowGroup.com), or go directly to the Search page at http://www.theharrowgroup.com/search.htm . Nice work, Atomz. (Note that I have no relationship with Atomz other than as an impressed user of their free service.)
'Big Brother' May Have An English Accent.
Commenting on several of our recent discussions that touched on "location awareness" (such as RFID tags, GPS in cell phones, security cameras and more), reader James Watts points out that a somewhat lower-tech version of personal surveillance, which is nevertheless sufficiently accurate for many needs, has now left the shady realms of spy novels and covert government agencies to walk the streets of London, and the hills and dales throughout the UK (which is already known for the greatest density of city surveillance cameras, in London). It's available right now for
anyone who wishes to pay a monthly fee of about
thirty pounds. (In order to designate a phone as "trackable," the person who owns the phone/account must explicitly opt-in and designate specifically who will be able to track them. So the tracked phone user doesn't forget that they're under Big Brother's thumb, the service periodically sends each tracked phone a "reminder" text message that they are being location-monitored, and by whom.) The person doing the monitoring can find out the phone's location at any time via a text message query from his/her registered mobile phone, or from any telephone (requires a PIN), or from a Web site. Each such request costs 30 pence that is deducted from a balance maintained with the company. A typical response might be, "'Gemma is in the vicinity of Carnaby Street, London W1,' together with the date, time and accuracy of the location."
We Now Have The Technology, But... Such a service could certainly be useful, say for keeping track of kids (who will likely rebel at just the age it could be most valuable), or elderly or mentally incapacitated people. But also for monitoring employees (which is not improbable - just ask many long-haul truckers in the U.S. - their company always knows just where their trucks are...) Note that similar services, such as this one from Pointer (http://www.pointersolutions.com/eng/hunting_dog_gps.htm), are already in place to keep track of your family pet -- a harness holds the equivalent of a GPS-enabled cell phone that can be queried remotely; it then gives you Fido's exact location, and even a "cookie crumb" trail of his movements while you're out hunting him down. I believe you can also converse with your pet over the phone portion of the device to sooth him. Or, if you have an unusually good relationship with your pet, to get him to participate in his rescue as you get near ("Fido - SPEAK")! As suggested above, many businesses that issue cell phones to their employees might be interested in mapAmobile's services, and I see nothing that would restrict them from using it (it's their cell phone and their account with MapAMobile) -- even outside of working hours if they desired. Then, of course, there's the issue that government agencies (or nefarious hackers?) might have access to a non-public option that neglects to advise the tracked phone that it is indeed being tracked...
On Becoming An 'Open Book...' I'm sure that you can think of additional values for such a service, both good and bad. But my point in bringing this up isn't to single out mapAmobile, but to remind us that these elements of Big Brother are ALREADY here, now, and that such services are not inherently "bad." Which of course makes determining what is socially acceptable vs. not, much more complex. This particular example of a
loss of privacy (if agreed-to and well-intentioned)
may (MAY!) be an appropriate and acceptable tradeoff
for some, or many, people and societies. But we
shouldn't just allow such significant changes to our
privacy to "sneak in." We should know about them;
we should understand their pluses and minuses, and
how they will affect the overall fabric of our
society. Only through such knowledge can we assure
that things don't go "too far" (however we choose to
define that term in each of our very different
societies.) And a comprehensive set of privacy
laws, rather than today's startling mishmash (see
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/02/technology/circuits/02priv.html?th
for an example) might help. Let's just assure that we're not "surprised" by the outcome, least George Orwell begin nodding in his grave...
Begin Self-Serving Advertisement There's MUCH More I Can Do For You!
You may not realize it, but there's much more to The Harrow Group than just "The Harrow Technology Report." For almost twenty years, as I've been sharing my research on the ever-faster-moving and converging technologies that are changing how we work, live, and play, I've also been working directly with businesses and organizations, large and small, to help them understand and address how these changes may affect them, their customers, and their customers' businesses, through a series of:
·
Presentations -
Highly engaging, interactive, multimedia,
constantly-updated presentations and keynote
speeches to individual businesses, internal groups,
and trade organizations, helping participants to
viscerally understand and appreciate how technology
has brought us to where we are today, and where it's
likely to lead us tomorrow.
·
Workshops
- Beginning with the presentation described above
(to give all participants a common understanding and
insight), the workshop further engages attendees to
explore how this march of technology might affect
their individual businesses and organizations, and
their specific needs.
·
One-On-One Consulting -
Individualized
consulting services, available via phone or
in-person, to help you explore the topics and trends
discussed in The Harrow Technology Report,
and related issues. Please continue at http://www.theharrowgroup.com/consulting2.htm for additional information. Then, contact me at Jeff@TheHarrowGroup.com with any additional questions, to discuss fees, and to schedule a consulting event. I look forward to working with you! End Self-Serving Advertisement "Make It So" Redux - The 'Santa Claus' Machine!
"Stereolithography" is a
technique we've discussed before that turns 3D
models inside a computer into real, holdable 3D
objects (see
http://www.theharrowgroup.com/articles/ Brought to our attention by
reader Steve Pitcher, the Sept. 28 CNN
(http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/09/24/ According to the team's John Canny, "...the housing of the device can be filled with circuitry during the printing process -- in fact, the object itself becomes the circuit and vice versa." "The integration of flexible materials with electronics has been dubbed "flexonics" and could do away with the conventional flat printed circuit board." More generally, the team's goal is: "...to build fully functional mechatronic devices without assembly. These devices will integrate structural, mechanical, and electronic components during fabrication using an all-inkjet printing process." (http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~risnerj/flexonics/index.html)
Changing The Way Our World Works. I suggest that if (when?) such "3D printers" become good enough and inexpensive enough to be sold at your local electronics shop, this concept will change the entire face of the manufacturing/transportation/retail chain for many products -- in essence changing the way our world works. Then, if/when we further expand this ability so as to create and lay down individual molecules and atoms to order, this process might enable us to "print-up," on-demand, things like a layer of OUR skin to slap over a burn or a cut... This is still significantly far in the future! But imagine yourself in that time when you decide you want a new cell phone. You use your Web browser to explore the different models currently available, and pick the one you want. A few clicks with your credit card, and instead of a phone leaving a warehouse and arriving on your doorstep the next day via FedEx, you download a file that defines the essence of the cell phone and route it to your 3D printer. It proceeds to "print" the phone from the bottom-up, layering the appropriate plastics at just the right places to make the physical form, and also layering just the right semiconducting plastics ("Organic Electronics" - see http://organics.eecs.berkeley.edu/) exactly where they need to be so that when the phone is completed, it actually WORKS like a phone -- because it IS the phone! (If you think that companies are hard-nosed about protecting their intellectual property rights NOW, just imagine how serious they'll get if such self-manufacturing becomes commonplace! As the music industry has found out first, this is a significant issue for ANY products that are sold as bits as opposed to as atoms.) Such capabilities would certainly change how we thought about manufactured goods, but imagine some of the more unique uses for such "active" 3D printers. Why send loads of spare parts on a space mission when a couple or three of these printers (redundancy), a basic store of ingredients ("inks"), and a file describing every part and subsystem on the spacecraft could reproduce needed parts on-demand. How about letting little Suzie create her favorite toy on-screen, and then "make it so?" (And wouldn't this be a boon for parents who put off purchasing the oh-so-popular holiday gift until they had fled the toy store shelves?) This won't happen soon, but: Again, Don't Blink!
(Or, if you're blinking too often and decide you need a new pair of glasses, "print" one up!)
Big Little Things.
Commenting on our previous discussions of RFID tags and how huge retailers such as Wal-Mart have been planning a rapid adoption of the tags, reader Mike Donegan pointed out that Wal-Mart in fact backed-off from a planned massive "store shelf" test with Gillette. (They are, however, continuing to implement RFID tags for "back room" merchandise tracking - http://news.com.com/2100-1019_3-1023934.html?tag=techdirt). Interestingly, from the tone of Wal-Mart spokesman Tom Williams' comments, I read between the lines to believe that it was the potential "privacy issues" that we've discussed in previous issues, rather than technological issues, that caused them to, for the moment, keep RFID tags off of individual products on the shelves: "The [RFID-reading] shelf was never completely installed... We didn't want it. Any materials that were there (in Brockton, MA) were removed. We never had products with chips in them." Given RFID tags' obvious benefits (which we'll further explore in a moment), I suspect that they or their equivalent will, eventually, find their way into consumer items. But this very public reversal by the largest U.S. retailer (following a similar reversal by Benetton) suggests that privacy concerns ARE being heard -- and listened to.
Ubiquity - Even Now. Although you may not realize it, you've probably already been involved with Radio Frequency IDentification tags (RFID tags). Some early crude versions are buried in the paper labels attached to video tapes and other merchandise. If the cashier hasn't intentionally "blown them out" by overdriving them during the checkout process (notice them waving your purchase over a special place on the counter?), the tag will set off an alarm when you pass through the security gate. (The tag has no battery - its circuit is powered by the transmitter within the security gate as the RFID tag passes by, which causes it to transmit its existence, or the information it carries.) Many early tags simply signaled that they exist, but more current tags each have a unique ID number embedded within them, and they transmit that number when they're queried. So not only do these tags announce that they're "there," but the computer monitoring the security gate knows exactly WHICH tag (and through an inventory database 'which explicit item') has left. And that may be very handy for future automated checkout schemes where you simply roll your full grocery basket through the gates: each item in the basket spews forth its ID, and your credit card is debited automatically. (I do hope that as this is implemented, they build frames full of open grocery bags into the carts -- that way there's never an unloading at all, other than lifting the full bags out of the cart and into the car. Of course, we will have to learn not to pack the bread at the bottom of a bag...)
These Are SMALL! Early tags were fairly large, such as the paper labels, or those annoying pincer-like plastic clamps often found on clothing. But not for a while now. Brought to our attention by reader Don Lyle, in 2001 Hitachi announced an RFID chip that was only .4mm square. It did require the attachment of an external antenna, but it was still pretty small. Now though, they've improved upon the design by using on-chip bump-metallization technology to form an internal antenna so that no external antenna is required at all!
These literally 'speck of dust' sized chips simply work as-is (no power supply needed - remember?), and they can easily be embedded in just about anything from videotapes, to food packages, to individual dollar bills, and even into clothing. (http://www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/030902.html) (Hummm -- These chips are already SO small, that I wonder what would happen if (when?) you breathe one in or ingest it in some food. Are YOU then traceable forever...? Now that YOU are "chipped," the checkout gates will record the ID of YOUR chip along with the IDs of those chips in the products you're purchasing. Then, a small comparison of purchase databases could easily identify YOU, even if you pay by cash. From then on, the wide network of such chip sensors would automatically track your every move...) Fascinating technology. Of course as I suggested above, such "traceability," if carried too far, could have negative implications for free societies. So as is the case with most technologies, we need to carefully understand the risk/benefit tradeoffs of RFID tags as we begin to implement them into our societies. They (and other technologies) may turn out to be totally benign to a given society. Or they may clearly be beyond the pale. Or, it may turn out that the risk/benefit tradeoff may still weigh-in on the side of implementing the technologies -- with appropriate controls. But we don't want to "fall into" such decisions with our eyes wide shut; we want to make those decisions with a wide panoply of knowledgeable eyes very wide open. Because, after all, we will have to quite literally live with the results of our actions (or inactions).
More On 'Security.' By the way, the broad world of "security," of which RFID tags are just one tiny player, similarly requires such careful thought. I recently read a new book by security expert Bruce Schneier called "Beyond Fear" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0387026207/), which I found to be an interesting and very readable exploration of "security" in general (not specifically computer security, although that does find its way in). The book demystified some of the 'security mystique,' it helped me to understand a rational way to look at and talk about security as a whole, and it used many anecdotes from the world around us to demonstrate "security theater" vs. "security reality." Bruce provides a voice of thoughtful reason in the murky "security" world. I recommend "Beyond Fear" if you have an interest in this pervasive and important area.
PPI Follow-up.
Finally, commenting upon our
recent exploration of PPI's unusual programming
staff (http://www.theharrowgroup.com/articles/ "Once again, thank you for an excellent issue. I want to pay particular tribute to your brave introduction of the concept of PPI (Primate Programming Inc.) We firmly believe that RAIPP (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Primate Programmers) can not only be cost effective, but can also produce software equal to or better than what many software companies are currently shipping. Not only that, I understand they are also working on a project (hush-hush and under wraps) to recreate the complete works of Shakespeare. They are currently looking for funding to enable them to increase staff to very large numbers in order to accomplish the task. (Original estimates had noted that it would take an infinite number, but with advanced training the number has been significantly reduced.)" My response? "My only surprise on this issue is that I could have SWORN that I have seen pens full of such programmers at several large corporate and governmental sites in the past, which would seem to render the newsworthiness of this current announcement by PPI to be somewhat in question..."
(Hey - I'm a programmer too, so I'm allowed to joke about it!)
About "The Harrow Technology Report."
"The Harrow Technology Report" explores the innovations and trends of many contemporary and emerging technologies, and then draws some less than obvious connections between them, to help us each survive and prosper in the Knowledge Age. "The Harrow Technology Report" is brought to you by Jeffrey R. Harrow, Principal of The Harrow Group. http://www.TheHarrowGroup.com . Where To Find "The Harrow Technology Report:"
Copyright (c) 2001-2005, Jeffrey R. Harrow. All
rights reserved.
|
