Re: What is Intelligence?

Chris Hind (chind@juno.com)
Fri, 11 Oct 1996 14:27:18 -0700


>Perhaps one could have a small extension of the browser that allows you
>to add a page to your "reference bookmark file" that contains useful
>pages. People could merge their bookmark files, creating a distributed,
>growing, user-defined search-space for information that a personal search
>engine could deal with.

Speaking of web HTML code enhancements. I was pondering the idea of a tag
that you would put in a referring page if that particular page has moved
that would signal search tools to auto update their database to this new
location as opposed to the link going dead. This way the neural pathways of
the web-brain could 'learn' and alter the structure of the links themselves
instead of merely discarding a link. This could be one step toward global
internet AI. I remember I read a highly interesting essay from Principia
Cybernetica dealing with this called "From Internet to Web Superbrain". Just
imagine when we get more intelligent routers for the backbones and start
bringing bio and eventually quantum processors on board? To add to this
analogy, notice how the webbrain strengthens it's neuron pathways by, if a
particular website is busy we upgrade the server speed to enable more people
to access it or even more likely, upgrade the connection to the neuron (the
network link). This is just more evidence that the internet is moving
towards being a conscious entity. Right now, you could consider it in a
non-self aware stage. I'm looking forward to it becoming a conscious SI entity!