Skynet, Possible or impossible?

[tyrandan]

SkyNet, from The Terminator franchise. I am sure you have all heard about the computer ai bent in wiping humanity from the face of the planet.

So, a simple question: Impossible or possible? With today's technology? Tomorrow's technology? Do you think humanity is in danger, or not? Or do you think that a powerful supercomputer system is capable of directing the United States' Military?

[50ul84n3]

using one entity to direct the military is a very stupid idea. singular minds no matter how advanced are always subject to some form of bias. using a dual triad system of three humans and three supercomputers is far more logical. gaia and the elders from appleseed was a very stable concept. the magi from evangelion would also be stable if the three computers were programmed to favor different outcomes and patterns.

[Viking ZX]

Something like skynet is as yet not possible with current technology. In order for something of that magnitude to happen, you would need a computer that was sentient or powerful enough to compute enough lines of logic as to appear sentient. In that line, such a computer would still require external imput to manage itself and its goals.

Another problem arises with how such a computer could take over. If such an AI were created and did want to crush humanity, it would need access to weapons. In the event that it was capable of gaining control over a military force, someone could simply cut the power cable or the cable that the control came through to restore the system to their control.

It does make for great sci-fi material however. One of my notable favorites will always be CABAL or Computer Aided Biological Assisted Lifeform. In his case however, he was part organic computer, and already had a massive military power under his direct control (as well as control over all of the military communication centers).

However, outside of some substantial jumps in computing and a sudden desire for everyone to hand over military control to it, I doubt it'll happen.

[50ul84n3]

Black OPS agent Dracarys

Something like skynet is as yet not possible with current technology. In order for something of that magnitude to happen, you would need a computer that was sentient or powerful enough to compute enough lines of logic as to appear sentient. In that line, such a computer would still require external imput to manage itself and its goals.

Another problem arises with how such a computer could take over. If such an AI were created and did want to crush humanity, it would need access to weapons. In the event that it was capable of gaining control over a military force, someone could simply cut the power cable or the cable that the control came through to restore the system to their control.

It does make for great sci-fi material however. One of my notable favorites will always be CABAL or Computer Aided Biological Assisted Lifeform. In his case however, he was part organic computer, and already had a massive military power under his direct control (as well as control over all of the military communication centers).

However, outside of some substantial jumps in computing and a sudden desire for everyone to hand over military control to it, I doubt it'll happen.

what about eva? i do see where you're coming from there though the populus would most likely revolt before giving the military to a computer. i know i would.

[Viking ZX]

50ul84n3

Black OPS agent Dracarys

Something like skynet is as yet not possible with current technology. In order for something of that magnitude to happen, you would need a computer that was sentient or powerful enough to compute enough lines of logic as to appear sentient. In that line, such a computer would still require external imput to manage itself and its goals.

Another problem arises with how such a computer could take over. If such an AI were created and did want to crush humanity, it would need access to weapons. In the event that it was capable of gaining control over a military force, someone could simply cut the power cable or the cable that the control came through to restore the system to their control.

It does make for great sci-fi material however. One of my notable favorites will always be CABAL or Computer Aided Biological Assisted Lifeform. In his case however, he was part organic computer, and already had a massive military power under his direct control (as well as control over all of the military communication centers).

However, outside of some substantial jumps in computing and a sudden desire for everyone to hand over military control to it, I doubt it'll happen.

what about eva? i do see where you're coming from there though the populus would most likely revolt before giving the military to a computer. i know i would.

E.V.A (Electronic Video Assistance) was not an AI, but rather a powerful military tactic/logistic algorithm computer. E.V.A. could only take input and process it in terms of her programming to find viable alternatives, unlike CABAL who was capable of reasoning. E.V.A. needed input, upon which 'she' would process the input and come to a series of conclusions based on relevent historical similarities in data, and was incapable of actually controlling anything. This type of 'psuedo-AI' could be extremely advantageous in the real world, but inferior to CABAL, who was able to create his own solutions to problems as well as act upon them through direct control.

[50ul84n3]

Black OPS agent Dracarys

50ul84n3

Black OPS agent Dracarys

Something like skynet is as yet not possible with current technology. In order for something of that magnitude to happen, you would need a computer that was sentient or powerful enough to compute enough lines of logic as to appear sentient. In that line, such a computer would still require external imput to manage itself and its goals.

Another problem arises with how such a computer could take over. If such an AI were created and did want to crush humanity, it would need access to weapons. In the event that it was capable of gaining control over a military force, someone could simply cut the power cable or the cable that the control came through to restore the system to their control.

It does make for great sci-fi material however. One of my notable favorites will always be CABAL or Computer Aided Biological Assisted Lifeform. In his case however, he was part organic computer, and already had a massive military power under his direct control (as well as control over all of the military communication centers).

However, outside of some substantial jumps in computing and a sudden desire for everyone to hand over military control to it, I doubt it'll happen.

what about eva? i do see where you're coming from there though the populus would most likely revolt before giving the military to a computer. i know i would.

E.V.A (Electronic Video Assistance) was not an AI, but rather a powerful military tactic/logistic algorithm computer. E.V.A. could only take input and process it in terms of her programming to find viable alternatives, unlike CABAL who was capable of reasoning. E.V.A. needed input, upon which 'she' would process the input and come to a series of conclusions based on relevent historical similarities in data, and was incapable of actually controlling anything. This type of 'psuedo-AI' could be extremely advantageous in the real world, but inferior to CABAL, who was able to create his own solutions to problems as well as act upon them through direct control.

but cabal did go rogue, so eva was a far better choice.

[Viking ZX]

50ul84n3

Black OPS agent Dracarys

50ul84n3

Black OPS agent Dracarys

Something like skynet is as yet not possible with current technology. In order for something of that magnitude to happen, you would need a computer that was sentient or powerful enough to compute enough lines of logic as to appear sentient. In that line, such a computer would still require external imput to manage itself and its goals.

Another problem arises with how such a computer could take over. If such an AI were created and did want to crush humanity, it would need access to weapons. In the event that it was capable of gaining control over a military force, someone could simply cut the power cable or the cable that the control came through to restore the system to their control.

It does make for great sci-fi material however. One of my notable favorites will always be CABAL or Computer Aided Biological Assisted Lifeform. In his case however, he was part organic computer, and already had a massive military power under his direct control (as well as control over all of the military communication centers).

However, outside of some substantial jumps in computing and a sudden desire for everyone to hand over military control to it, I doubt it'll happen.

what about eva? i do see where you're coming from there though the populus would most likely revolt before giving the military to a computer. i know i would.

E.V.A (Electronic Video Assistance) was not an AI, but rather a powerful military tactic/logistic algorithm computer. E.V.A. could only take input and process it in terms of her programming to find viable alternatives, unlike CABAL who was capable of reasoning. E.V.A. needed input, upon which 'she' would process the input and come to a series of conclusions based on relevent historical similarities in data, and was incapable of actually controlling anything. This type of 'psuedo-AI' could be extremely advantageous in the real world, but inferior to CABAL, who was able to create his own solutions to problems as well as act upon them through direct control.

but cabal did go rogue, so eva was a far better choice.

Yes, plus, E.V.A. was cheaper to manufacture, which is why each MCV came equipped with a basic level E.V.A. unit while the Comm-centers had a more advanced one. Havoc even had a high tech miniturized E.V.A. unit on his arm.

Of course, Kane's answer to CABAL was to build LEGION, who seems a lot more stable then CABAL was, at least well....actually...hmmm...thats and interesting thought....right up until the event that happened at the end of the game....curious...the same thing happened to CABAL.

Wow, that has nothing to do with the topic.

[AnimeDevilDog]

Ok, Skynet... Can it happen? With the rate of advancement of the computer systems throughout the world, and how interconnections make everything connected to everything, the potential of developed self-awareness is there, maybe within the next ten or so years...

So we have (in about ten years) a self aware superbrain that is connected to virtually every corner of the planet, where ever there is a computer of some sort hooked into the web. (or even the basic cell phones) What does that mean for us? Does it signify the end? I do not believe so at all. For one, I do not see the logic in a superbrain such as we are talking about deciding that Humanity is the ultimate enemy that must be exterminated. First, there is just no logical grounds for such a decision. Second, the network will still need to be maintained, and that requires us humans. It would be suicide on the part of the network to make such a decision.

Now, if for whatever reason the network decided to carry out it's Terminator based goals, then would it be able to do so? Again, the answer is no. Yes, the computer would have access to so much, but there are already safeguards in place. Take the nuclear option for a moment. Thats how Skynet killed off the biggest majority of the human race. In reality, the system itself could not launch the missles as was done in T3. There are three safety features that require a human to carry them out. The first is the key code, which has to be manually inputed. Afterwards, the silo has to be open, and the switch for that is not connected in any way to an outside source. Lastly, in order to launch, two keys have to be turen at the same time on either side of the room, making it a two man job. There is no way that any outside computer could launch the missles on it's own.

Ok, lets assume that the missles have flown and 99% of the population is either CO or charcoal (depending on how far from the detonation they are), what about all those fancy robotic fighting machines? Yes, we do have robotic fighting equipment within our inventory here in the U.S., but we do not have enough for the network to mount an all out attack on the surviving population. (and that would be assuming a machine survival rate from the nuclear portion of the assult to be 100%) In reality, There will be a tremendous amount of destroyed equipment, and that includes the robots. And on that same note, where are the robots going to build their robot armies from? All the nuclear weapond destroyed all the major population areas, and that would include all the manufacturing areas and the needed infrastructure and resources.

So, yes, it is possible to have aself aware network upon us. But, no, they cannot do to us what was shown to us in the Terminator movies. And that could only even be remotely possible if we were to enable it to happen. The systems nowdays have so many safeguards being built into them, they would be stipped before they even got started.

[dwavenhobble]

tyrandan

SkyNet, from The Terminator franchise. I am sure you have all heard about the computer ai bent in wiping humanity from the face of the planet.

So, a simple question: Impossible or possible? With today's technology? Tomorrow's technology? Do you think humanity is in danger, or not? Or do you think that a powerful supercomputer system is capable of directing the United States' Military?

at the moment i think weve seen the starts of the AI revolution when a virus went rouge and send the emaill and home addresses of its creators to a bank security system and vanished into the system, i think its highly possible if the skynet scenario were to happen such a virus / viruses would be involved so its highly likely at the moment except for possible getting the virus into the nuclear silos as they are essentially all independent

[Pvynex]

A sentient machine is not, for the foreseeable future, a possibility. The simple reason for this is that there are no humans intelligent enough to program such a machine. A computer cannot for any reason or in any way deviate from its programming; for there to be a sentient machine, someone would have to write a program either for sentience or that would lead to sentience emerging.

Humanity does not understand the biological basis of sentience.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological memory storage.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological computation.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism that allows living beings to learn.

We would need to understand all of these things in order to create a computer that functions in a way comparable to a human.

[dwavenhobble]

Pvynex

A sentient machine is not, for the foreseeable future, a possibility. The simple reason for this is that there are no humans intelligent enough to program such a machine. A computer cannot for any reason or in any way deviate from its programming; for there to be a sentient machine, someone would have to write a program either for sentience or that would lead to sentience emerging.

Humanity does not understand the biological basis of sentience.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological memory storage.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological computation.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism that allows living beings to learn.

We would need to understand all of these things in order to create a computer that functions in a way comparable to a human.

the thing is there is already an inteligent virus out there as I said its quite famous here in the UK the virus was sent into a banks system to gather account info and send it back to its creator but after about 2 weeks it stopped sending information back and sent the creators email address and home address to the Banks securtiy and the local police station then the Virus vanished into the system

[Pvynex]

dwavenhobble

Pvynex

A sentient machine is not, for the foreseeable future, a possibility. The simple reason for this is that there are no humans intelligent enough to program such a machine. A computer cannot for any reason or in any way deviate from its programming; for there to be a sentient machine, someone would have to write a program either for sentience or that would lead to sentience emerging.

Humanity does not understand the biological basis of sentience.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological memory storage.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism of biological computation.
Humanity does not understand the mechanism that allows living beings to learn.

We would need to understand all of these things in order to create a computer that functions in a way comparable to a human.

the thing is there is already an inteligent virus out there as I said its quite famous here in the UK the virus was sent into a banks system to gather account info and send it back to its creator but after about 2 weeks it stopped sending information back and sent the creators email address and home address to the Banks securtiy and the local police station then the Virus vanished into the system

Source? That seems...far fetched... at best.

[Mister Adequate]

I don't see any military putting nukes on any sort of network, least of all one which would be vulnerable to hackers.

[InsanePerson Fell]

its probable very unlikely unless world war III comes along.

[bigmanlittlepackage]

Humans have yet to have anywhere near the knowledge to make a computer advanced enough that can to be basic: decide it wants to destroy its own creator. Why would it want to when it only works mechanically and systematically through- to give an example, assesing military situations and determining the outcome of every single eventuality and thus presenting to human minds a list of viable possibilities. This is the kind of thing a robot similiar to 'skynet' could be used for- the dirty work of reasoning, which is why computers nearly always beat the average human at a game of chess-the computer can asses thousands of different possibilitys in 1 second wheras humans don't have a hundredth of that ability. However, humans have the ability to create, respond to an external enviroment and invent which makes them yet the most advanced computer of all. Computers can be used to help make decisions, and do things-like lock on targets, assess military strategy, process information but ultimately-humans minds are the only sytems capable of responding to an ever changing situation and take into account every single factor which a computer wouldnt take 1/30th of into account. That's how wars are now, to an extent, and will in the future be fought. However there will never be a computer that becomes conscious enough to do anything except what it was programmed to do. It took billions of years for the human mind to evolve organically and it will take a billion more years of human evolution to make a human mind that understands how to create another mind like a humans. On the contrary we are not evolving, which flings the possibility of this even further into the future. Logically, another 10 billion years of research and knowledge to go?