Cyan

I've always considered the 'Great Filter' theory to be a plausible one and explains the lack of alien civilizations, many of which I believe are now dead.

There will always be barriers to the endless existence of race or species - be it natural disasters (eg super volcanoes), extraterrestrial (death of our sun, asteroid), or other (war). Sooner or later, we will meet a barrier which we cannot overcome unless we master the Kardashev scale of energy harvesting which can act as an insurance against end of life events.

Enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Paul_Shepherd

Thats an interesting theory, I hadn't heard of that before. I read a little on it...and it does mention a species wiping themselves out through advanced technology.....I think that will be our fate.

I watched a great movie last night, one that was recommended by another poster on this thread, Ex Machina, it was about AI, but not your normal Hollywood take on it....this movie was a lot more thought provoking, it definitely drew me in.

Paul_Shepherd

What a fantastic clip...that guy nails it, so well explained, ..... the quote you have hi lighted above is exactly what the likes of facebook is doing to society, (or "feacesbook" as I like to call it) and very apt to the subject of this thread....social media is a technology driven tool that has changed and is continuing to change society, and not for the better.

I am pleased to say I have never used feacesbook for the reasons this guy has articulated.

Oh and I watched Ex Machina, great movie, really enjoyed it.

Shard

The film, Transcendence is very good too.

MarkG

To be fair, it's really only a hyperactive extension to the 'famous for fifteen minutes' idea that began fifty years ago with the advent of mass TV viewing.

Shard

That's a misunderstanding of social media. It's has far more personal and societal impact than making the odd individual into a celebrity.

MarkG

Yes, but it's only an extension of that. Where we used to have a few dozen long-term celebrities and thousands of short-term ones spewing their nonsense across the airwaves, we now have billions. The nonsense is still pretty much the same.

TV was the beginning of the end. Facebook just gave it a hypersonic boost.

Shard

That's beside the point. On a macro level FB has formed a network of billions of people, has unimaginable amounts of data on each person, and is able to influence their thinking in a highly targeted way. On a micro level, individuals conduct their social relationships and lives differently with FB (and other SN) and that too influences their personality and thinking. It's not a particularly benign product or phenomena.

On a slightly different topic...what's up with Google asking for "more info"?. I think I've added the odd comment/photo to Google's platform in the past, and probably am opted in for contact. So every now and then I get a message saying "we need some human help with this...". Fine. But the question is something inane like "Sainsbury's...does this shop sell bread?" or "Local McDonalds...is this restaurant suitable for kids?" I can't figure out what they are up to. They don't really need human help for that. Google's algorithms are more than clever enough to know the answer to these questions, so the question is just some pretext to get me to respond, but why? What do our robot overlords want?

Danny B

I'm glad you liked the movie, the ending took me by surprise. Elon Musk is shit scared of AI, and after watching that movie, who knows what will be possible.

As for Facebook, I don't have one but my Wife does. What scares me the most is watching my Daughter talking about all the 'likes' she got on an instagram post. It's almost as if that is all they post for, to receive likes

It can't be fun being a teenager these days, I'm so pleased I was a teen in the late 80's, can't be arsed with all this online dating crap. See a girl, ask her out, get rejected, move on.

Paul_Shepherd

Another one I have been meaning to watch for a while, but havent yet, thanks for the reminder and recomendation Shard.

Paul_Shepherd

Yes...that movie was futuristic but somehow your left wondering how far into the future...not as far as some may believe, many say they didn't like the ending....but I thought it was perfect for what the movie was trying to put over to the viewer.

Your right about this facebook likes thing....I find it kind of souless, you don't see your friends faces or importantly their reactions when they see something funny...just a computerised "like" "oh look I got 20 likes in the last half hour" that just seems so empty to me. Id rather tell a funny story in a face to face social setting and get a few laughs. If I do find something funny online...I like to show it to someone personally ....because I want to see their reaction....I want to see their FACE! Ironic eh that the biggest "social" media app is called "face" book when its anything but?

It sounds as though were about the same age, I was also a teen in the late 80s, Im 47 now, the late 80s doesn't seem that long ago in some ways, its cliched to say it but.....it was a totally different world then.

And don't even start me on this online dating garbage....I have had a rant on here about that a few times before, tried it, don't like anything about it, its so clinical, cold and empty. Unfortunately I think it has changed the dating scene....as many seem to prefer to date that way now, and won't date anyone in a normal scenario, as they don't know their age, marital status, whether they smoke or drink, if they have kids, etc etc they prefer to pick them from a computer monitor. Its worked for many, but is not for me at all, I am simply not wired that way. (pardon the pun) Maybe I could ask Ava out on a date?

MarkG

So did TV channels. Just not so individually targeted.

You really think TV wasn't a propaganda system?

Siouxie

The future is already here..

https://www.newscientist.com/article...brain-implant/https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-human-...improve-memory
and

https://www.cnet.com/news/superintel...ter-interface/The book series I'm currently reading (I like Sci-Fi) has it's basis on this.. AI and human interface.

Fascinating!

Danny B

It's funny because everyone I know who has a facebook account complains about their 'feed' being full of crap, yet they still check it every 15 times a day.

I try to get my Daughter to watch this video a few times every year.


As for online dating, I can't really comment as I met my Wife in the early 90's the old fashioned way and we are still happily married.

However, my 21 year old Son doesn't have a girlfriend right now and has given me a demo of Tinder I would be a nightmare on that bloody thing.

Paul_Shepherd

WOW. Powerful....and so sad...because its true, EVERY word. That video epitomises my feelings on "social" media.

It appears we are very much in the same wavelength, sadly we are the minority.

Im glad at least one person I know out there, is educating their kids on the future of our society.