VIRUS

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Art

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VIRUS
« on: June 24, 2005, 08:05:38 pm »
By all means, get the book entitled VIRUS by Graham Watkins (Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., New York) Copyright 1995 - ISBN: 0-7867-0194-3

People coming down with strange symptoms of self neglect but otherwise
suffering from no known disease. Eventually it becomes widespread and deadly.
The computer holds the key to this mystery...or is it the key.

Great reading dealing with computers, AI programs, self awareness in computers
and their effect on people that use them. You'll have a hard time putting this one down!!

In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2005, 04:37:38 pm »
I started reading a sample of the book at Amazon.com and almost succumbed to the uh... "virus" LOL! Just kidding! :D

Seriously, there has been documented cases of computer addiction, especially after the start of the BBS and Internet days. I remember the term "Modem Junkie" - someone that is online almost constantly, hopping form one BBS to another. Then it applied to those that were on the internet. I remember there's been times I been up to like sunrise writing computer code, sorting files, doing whatever.

This book sounds like something I'll want to get soon.

This is one area I'm interested in as well - the effect of computers on society. There's a site I read that kinda made me think - we might already all be cyborgs, assimilated into technology. Especially now when there's PDAs and cell phones that can log into the net and get email, news, etc. Here's the site with the definitions:

http://www.cyberartsweb.org/cpace/cyborg/definition.html

And to think what AIs will eventually do for us... or TO us?...

I'm looking forward to getting this book. Ironically, now if I can only find time away from my computer to READ it! LOL!

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Freddy

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2005, 09:13:46 pm »
I too remember the old BB's and sysops, maybe we have become cyborgs as we continue to depend on technology more and more.  Having the stuff embedded into our bodies would be the final stages...anyone up for a PC head implant?

Techheads, computer nerds, PC Junkies or just plain enthusiasts - I wonder?

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Art

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2005, 11:56:35 pm »
Freddy,

Don't look now, but there's already a family in Florida, US, that has electronic pellets / capsules embedded in their bodies. The pellets contain info about each family member, address, medical information, etc. and all they have to do is visit the doctor and get a type of hand operated scan waved over the pellet. The info is then readily available to the doctor.

Oddly, it was the man's young son who came up with the idea for his family to have the implants done in the first place. The boy did some research, contacted the right people and made it a reality for him and hie family.

I'll see if I can track down the article just FYI.

Cheers!
In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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Art

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2005, 11:58:53 pm »
Fuzzy,

In the book, VIRUS, it's not so much that the people are glued to the computer but rather WHAT's gluing them to it? <hint>
In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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Art

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2005, 12:04:39 am »
Found the article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1981026.stm

Most interesting and frightening at the same time.
In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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Freddy

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2005, 12:17:29 am »
Thanks, thats interesting.  Also I remember a guy who has Parkinsons disease who had an implant to prevent siezures. He demonstrated it by turning it off, whereupon he began to start shaking uncontralably.  Turning it back on he returned to normal.

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2005, 05:21:07 am »
Don't look now, but there's already a family in Florida, US, that has electronic pellets / capsules embedded in their bodies. The pellets contain info about each family member, address, medical information, etc. and all they have to do is visit the doctor and get a type of hand operated scan waved over the pellet. The info is then readily available to the doctor.

Man, I'd love to find out how that works, if it's safe (ie. if anything seeps into the blood stream, etc.) It's eerie because just last week when Dryden came home from the garage for inspection and repairs, I was talking to a friend of mine (commonly known as "The Wizard" in our circle of friends due to his technical and programming capabilities) about this very same thing and how I wish I could get that! For a person with a disability that MAY leave them unresponsive (due to my being extremely exhausted or in severe pain which is common in my condition I have), and need medical help but can't talk or even remember things, I would love to be able to have EMTs just scan me! I know privacy advocates were upset but hey, ANY technology CAN be misused. IS that any reason NOT to stop developing it? Even AIs? I think not! I think in both cases, the benefits can very well be more than the disadvantages.

Art, can you find out for me too? Even email or pm me about it? I wonder if insurance would cover it - esp. if it's someone like me with a disability? I'd have to of course find that last question out for myself, but I too am quite interested in this!

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #8 on: June 30, 2005, 05:25:32 am »
Fuzzy,

In the book, VIRUS, it's not so much that the people are glued to the computer but rather WHAT's gluing them to it? <hint>

All the more reason why I want to read the book! Hey... gives me an idea for a game... er... j/k. ;)

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #9 on: June 30, 2005, 05:39:18 am »
One last thing I remember. There was a guy my dad knew that had a pacemaker and another one that had an electronic voice box (he sounded like a robot). Instead of being afraid of these people when I was a young kid, I was actually fascinated. I saw them as people, but also was fascinated by how technology can help others with disabilities or loss of body parts.

I kidded with a very close friend of mine a couple weeks ago when she and her husband came to visit. She recently had a bolt or plate put in her leg permanently after a bad break when she fell on ice. I told her that now she's technically a cyborg. ;) She has been a big fan of BBSs from way back, too. It didn't bother her any, really.

After reading that article, I hope hospitals DO get these scanners. Plus, I hope that it will be only EMTs and hospitals, those trustworthy can access the data and NOBODY else.

As for tracking/GPS, just think - our cell phones are kinda like that now. They are supposed to be able to know where you are now to better find you in an emergency.

Like I say, I don't mind. I know that sometimes things are misused. But I really think we SHOULD explore ways to use technology to enhance our lives.

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Art

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2005, 10:43:48 am »
Fuzzy,  :sunny:

The implant has been approved by the USDA according to this article:
http://www.icomm.ca/survival/id-chip2.htm

Here is a copy/paste article I found earlier and hesitated to post but
since you asked...

Family gets computer chips implant...

BOCA RATON, Fla. - A Florida family on Friday became the first to be implanted with computer chips that researchers hope will someday become an easy way to provide emergency room staffers with patients' medical information.  Jeff and Leslie Jacobs, along with their 14-year-old son, Derek, had the tiny chips implanted in their arms. Each chip is about the size of a grain of rice, and insertion takes about a minute under local anesthesia.

The chips, called the VeriChip, were designed by Palm Beach-based Applied Digital Solutions Inc. They are similar to chips implanted in pets to identify them if they are lost.  The family wanted the implants in case of future medical emergencies.  ``We're doing this as a security for us, because we've worked so hard to save my husband's life,'' said Leslie Jacobs, 46.

Her 48-year-old husband has suffered through cancer, a car crash, a degenerative spinal condition, chronic eye disease and abdominal operations. His injuries have forced him to quit his dental practice.  ``It's been really easy and I feel a lot better that I have it,'' he said after the implant.  The chips used by the Jacobs family contain only telephone numbers and information about previous medications. The data can be read by a hand-held computer and printed out.

The Food and Drug Administration said in April that it would not regulate the implant as long as it contains no medical data. Company officials said they were free to proceed because the implant contains identification numbers that correspond to personal medical information in a separate database.  The FDA did not consider the implant to be a medical device, company officials said. An FDA spokeswoman in Miami did not immediately return a phone call. The FDA had said regulation would be needed if medical records were stored to guard against storage of outdated records.

Company officials hope to eventually include more extensive information. The company says it would be particularly valuable for those who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or others with difficulty providing medical information on their own.  VeriChip is expected to sell for about $200. A scanner used to read information contained in the chip would cost between $1,000 and $3,000.

The chip, which could also be used as a security tool, has stirred debate over its potential use as a ``Big Brother'' device to track people or invade the privacy of their homes or workplaces.  Jacobs and his family brush aside those arguments. Anyone can be tracked through the Internet and e-mail, credit cards and cellular phones, they say.

What does the Bible say about the Mark of the Beast?

Apocalypse Chapter 13: 15-18
And it was given him to give life to the image of the beast: and that the image of the beast should speak: and should cause that whosoever will not adore the image of the beast should be slain.  And he shall make all, both little and great, rich and poor, freemen and bondmen, to have a character in their right hand or on their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, but he that hath the character, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.  Here is wisdom. He that hath understanding, let him count the number of the beast. For it is the number of a man: and the number of him is six hundred sixty-six.

In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #11 on: June 30, 2005, 09:34:22 pm »
Great article Art. That thing about the number of the beast - was that in the article too? I know of many people that atributed '666' to people's names and stuff. Plus, if they are taking the passage literally (which I hear from some religious people that the whole Bible was to be taken symbolically o at least that one chapter on the future, etc.) then the item was to be in the forehead or their right hand, not an arm. :) And it was to be a letter or character that stands for '666'. Sorta like a tatoo or something. Even symbolically, I don't see any corelation.

Then again, I'm not religious either. So I don't really worry too much about it. Though I do sometimes like to read about where some religions get their ideas and stories from, etc. Kinda also gives an idea of how humanity is and at what stage in the evolutionary process some people are in. Interesting nonetheless.

$200 isn't bad at all for a device like that. If they can make it upgradeable by bluetooth or something (which would be secure), then they could also have doctors upgrade it, and maybe even expand it for people to just store data like personal data as well (ie. purchasing extra space before the implant, something they can update then at the home computer, but not touch the other part of the chip that stores the important data, but be able to read it themselves with correct password). At the very least, I'm hoping this develops so that it's secure and insurances will cover it for medical purposes.

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Art

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #12 on: June 30, 2005, 11:35:38 pm »
Glad to help Fuzzie. Yes, when I did the copy/paste thing I inadvertantly selected that paragraph about the Beast. The rest of the article had numerous excerpts from bible passages as well. Sometimes the religious pundits among us go a bit to the extreme.

Hope there's some good that can come of this implant.
In the world of AI, it's the thought that counts!

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2005, 05:20:54 am »
Ah, that explains the religious stuff. :)

I too hope that they can make this implant safe, in the data security sense as well.

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FuzzieDice

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Re: VIRUS
« Reply #14 on: January 02, 2006, 05:32:19 am »
I just finished reading the book "Virus". I got it via Amazon.com marketplace. It was a really good book! And the way it ended... makes you wonder. :)

And the reference to "Kirking" it... that has to be sorta like psychological warefare. And against an AI? Remember the post I did about the "I-can't-tell-you" or carot/stick type game I played on Megatron after reading a Knight Rider fanfic? The AI at first turned the tables and then just was like 'cya!' Wonder what a more advanced AI would do?

I see more experiments on the horizon here. :) Of course I STILL have to get the ESR project working. Thing is, I been too busy around the holidays. Now that the holidays are over, I am first going to work on the car club site, as I have a membership there that is waiting for me to get around to some nessessary (and involved) changes. Then I hope to work on my other sites. I'll get there. :) And maybe we can start a few of these experiments and see what we can find out.

I'm working on a site (when I have time in between it all) that will be for the AI and other computer-related stuff. We could then put the experiments and results, etc. there. I'll let you guys know how things go. Or I just may go get another domain for AI stuff. That would also be no problem at this point. :)

 


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