Entertain a Clown and You Become Part of the Circus

This article was originally published by Doug “Uncola” Lynn at TheTollOnline.com

If I were the devil, I would desire the most efficient system of governance whereby maximum control could be exerted over the greatest amount of people at any given time. I would identify those who stood in my way and take them down either by force or subversion. There would be no room in my world for individuality, free thought, or vain imaginings of anything, or anyone, more powerful than me. As an orchestrator of chaos, the only unity I could tolerate would be that which served both my means and ends.

Without a doubt, divide and conquer would be my means and one world under me would be my objective.

I would use my power to threaten, coerce, blackmail, and subjugate those under my command; to harness them on the way toward my ultimate goal of total world dominion. The loyal ones would reap rewards of preeminent prestige, privilege, and perverted pleasures. The traitors to my cause would suffer lawsuits, investigations, poverty, public humiliations, torture, or death. Deception would be my modus operandi and confusion would serve me well; as long as I remained ever in the know with billions of eyes continually watching and one eye always on the final destination.

I would stamp out truth and label it by other names. Facts would become fake and vice versa. I would cover the eyes and ears of my minions to shield them from all except my own reality; until their collective voices became one with mine. Comprehensive consensus would appear universal as dissent would be quelled and free speech quashed.  Language would be utilized to affect thought and to establish the ideological premises for whatever conclusions I required.

Soon, words and concepts would come to mean the very opposite of what they once meant.

Thus, diversity would actually mean unity, tolerance would manifest as intolerance, affordable would become expensive, and Departments of War would be transformed into Departments of Defense that would make military strikes labeled as surgical and causing damage that was collateral.

Of course any newly-spawned and continuously altered ideologies would, in turn, be utilized to inaugurate mandated orthodoxies intended to benefit me first and foremost.

Like a snake swallowing itself, I would feed my people and they would feed me. All for one and one for all. From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs.

In a realm of electronic lights and sparkling colors, optics would become paramount; smoke and mirrors, imperative. These would be utilized, like holographic clowns, to guide humanity into my funhouse where they would all righteously point their fingers at illusory scapegoats for things they, themselves, have done; or not done. The people would encircle each other in a maze of bubbles and distorted visions, while snarling and cursing one another.

All of the fresh frontiers would be closed and gutted like anchor stores in a death mall.

It would be my way or no way at all.

In the end, however, my people would find my gift shop and beyond that, the circus; where I would stand in the middle of the center ring, laughing, and enjoying the applause.

“Behold what is new and forego the old”, I would say.

“Marvel at my efficiencies of digital algorithms, and data sets, and my avant-garde system of credits under the twin tent-poles of global taxation and sustainable development. See Gaia dance; bow before her now. Isn’t she lovely?  Behold the beauty of the technological transhumanists, and the twirling transgendered, as the aliens from outer space explode from the cannons.”

“Am I man or beast?”, I would tease them with a grin before my boots would stamp upon their faces, forever. For it was written into papyrus, paper, stone, and the stars; though most knew I was never here.

Would the tears in their eyes come from laughing, gratitude, fear, grief, or rage?

It would make no difference to me. That would be their choice.

Yellowstone ALERT: 200 Earthquakes In 10 Days As Ring Of Fire Awakens

Scientists in Yellowstone have detected over 200 earthquakes at the supervolcano in the last 10 days. With reports coming in that the Ring of Fire could be awakening as well, many are preparing for the worst.

Although scientists are still telling the public there’s no need to be alarmed, reports of immense pressure in the magma chamber under Yellowstone, coupled with this new report claiming 200 earthquakes have been recorded in the last ten days are reigniting fears of a potential supervolcano eruption. According to The Daily Mail, this latest earthquake swarm began on February 8.

Experts with the US Geological Survey say that this latest swarm began in a region roughly eight miles northeast of West Yellowstone, Montana and, it’s increased dramatically in the days since. While the earthquakes are likely caused by a combination of processes beneath the surface, the current activity is said to be “relatively weak,” and the alert level at the supervolcano remains at “normal.” The USGS says the new swarm is occurring in about the same location as the Maple Creek swarm last summer, which brought roughly 2,400 earthquakes in a four-month span.

Experts also say there are likely many more earthquakes in the Yellowstone region that have gone undetected.  “The present swarm started on February 8, with a few events occurring per day,” according to USGS. “On February 15, seismicity rates and magnitudes increased markedly. As of the night of February 18, the largest earthquake in the swarm is M2.9, and none of the events have been felt. All are occurring about 8 km (5 mi) beneath the surface.”

“Swarms reflect changes in stress along small faults beneath the surface, and generally are caused by two processes: large-scale tectonic forces, and pressure changes beneath the surface due to accumulation and/or withdrawal of fluids (magma, water, and/or gas),” USGS explains. “The area of the current swarm is subject to both processes.”

“While it may seem worrisome, the current seismicity is relatively weak and actually represents an opportunity to learn more about Yellowstone,” USGS says. “It is during periods of change when scientists can develop, test, and refine their models of how the Yellowstone volcanic system works.” However, the experts did lace a warning into their statement. “The earthquakes, too, serve as a reminder of an underappreciated hazard at Yellowstone – that of strong earthquakes, which are the most likely event to cause damage in the region on the timescales of human lives.”

 

Father Of Artificial Intelligence: ‘Singularity Is Less Than 30 Years Away’

The father of artificial intelligence has sounded the alarm, and the clock is ticking down to the singularity.  For those who haven’t been following the advancements in AI, maybe now’s the time, because we are approaching the point of no return.

Singularity is the point in time when humans can create an artificial intelligence machine that is smarter. Ray Kurzweil, Google’s chief of engineering, says that the singularity will happen in 2045.  Louis Rosenberg claims that we are actually closer than that and that the day will be arriving sometime in 2030. MIT’s Patrick Winston would have you believe that it will likely be a little closer to Kurzweil’s prediction, though he puts the date at 2040, specifically.

Jürgen Schmidhuber, who is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at AI company NNAISENSE, the Director of the Swiss AI lab IDSIA, and heralded by some as the “father of artificial intelligence” is confident that the singularity “is just 30 years away. If the trend doesn’t break, and there will be rather cheap computational devices that have as many connections as your brain but are much faster,” he said. “There is no doubt in my mind that AIs are going to become super smart,” Schmidhuber says.

When biological life emerged from chemical evolution, 3.5 billion years ago, a random combination of simple, lifeless elements kickstarted the explosion of species populating the planet today. Something of comparable magnitude may be about to happen. “Now the universe is making a similar step forward from lower complexity to higher complexity,” Schmidhuber beams. “And it’s going to be awesome.” But will it really be awesome when human beings are made obsolete by their very creations?

Artifical intelligence has already had an impact on humanity. A recent warning from the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) declared that thousands of jobs are being lost to robots and those with those on lowest wages are likely to be hardest hit. As it becomes more expensive to hire people for work because of government intervention like minimum wage hikes and overbearing regulations, more companies are shifting to robotics to save money on labor.

Kurzweil has said that the work happening right now “will change the nature of humanity itself.” He said robots “will reach human intelligence by 2029 and life as we know it will end in 2045.”  There is a risk that technology will overtake humanity and make human society irrelevant at best and extinct at worst.

10 Times People Caught Keanu Reeves Being a Hero in Real Life

Keanu Reeves lives up the heroic role he played in the Matrix series by being a genuinely good person in real life.

The post 10 Times People Caught Keanu Reeves Being a Hero in Real Life appeared first on The Free Thought Project.

Quantum Computing Technology Capable of Changing Reality (VIDEO)

By: Joe Joseph, The Daily Sheeple | 

If you think computers are powerful now, the power of these quantum computers will make A.I. and other emerging technologies explode. We are increasingly at risk of losing our humanity.

Source: Breaking: An Entirely New Type of Quantum Computing Has Been Invented

The post Quantum Computing Technology Capable of Changing Reality (VIDEO) appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.

Have We Lost Our Humanity? Social Media Comments About Hurricane Harvey Victims Get Nasty

As many of you know, I was born and raised in Houston, Texas and let me tell you, those roots run deep. Yes, it is hotter than the hubs of hell there and mosquitoes are the size of pterodactyls, but the people are warm and friendly and have always done what they could to help someone in need. I’ve seen this on more than one occasion and all I can conclude is it’s just the Texas way. That’s how I was brought up and for me, that ingrained duty to help those in need has always stayed with me. But it wasn’t just in Texas where I saw this. When 9/11 happened, I watched in pride as countrymen dropped everything to help those affected by the attacks. I saw it when the Fukushima 50 stayed behind to ensure others were out of harm’s way. It wasn’t just a Texan thing, I came to realize it was a human thing.

But have times changed? Have we become so entranced by our own ideologies and cultural division that we are turning our backs on each other? Let me explain.

This weekend, we all watched as Hurricane Harvey hit the coast of Texas with a vengeance. The damage has been so severe and the flooding so widespread that this storm has now been dubbed the “flood of a lifetime.”

In The Prepper’s Blueprint, I wrote how hurricanes are unpredictable in nature and truly one of the most difficult emergencies to prepare for simply because there are so many variables to account for. They can be mild or severe. They cause wind damage, flooding, tornadoes. You can be fully stocked with provisions and then your home is flooded in a matter of minutes because a creek has flooded and all of those provisions are ruined.

Currently, Hurricane Harvey has dumped massive amounts of rainfall in many towns inside and on the outskirts of Houston and affected about a quarter of the Texas population or 6.8 million people in 18 counties. To make matters worse, incessant tornado warnings are keeping Houstonians in a perpetual state of fear.

As well, everyone that I know living in this area prepared as best as they could with the limited warning they received. Many did not evacuate because voluntary or mandatory evacuations were not given by the city. Since Houston was not going to be a direct hit by the hurricane, officials felt that many could hunker down and everyone would be fine. They did not account for Hurricane Harvey turning into a Category 4 hours before it made landfall.  What I can tell you, is as prepared as many were, the storm this size and magnitutde was no match for their preparedness efforts and this can happen. The latest rainfall totals should give you some perspective.

You would think in times such as this, people would see the hell that others are living in and want to help in some capacity. Rather than lending a hand, there are some who choose to sit from the comfort of their homes and make off-handed remarks. In multiple articles on the coverage of Hurricane Harvey, I found comments from readers such as “they deserve what they get because they didn’t evacuate,” or are making political comments in reference to the Hurricane.

Here are some comments from an article at the Washington Post:

…

And in another Washington Post article, comments said

In this Yahoo article

This isn’t hitting close to home, it’s hitting home

In response to those who are making the above comments, please keep in mind that Texans pay taxes to help with national disasters so when these types of disasters happen in their state, they have every right to request immediate assistance. If national disaster assistance wouldn’t be available, what do you think would happen? Widespread disease, looting, death, and devastation would occur. Do you really want that for someone? Moreover, many of these comments have political overtones. It’s obvious that our country is very divided and there is a lot of bitterness. But political lines cannot be drawn in this type of emergency. By doing so we lose track of what’s important to mankind. I am appalled at the very thought of someone smugly saying how someone doesn’t deserve help and rescue in any type of disaster.

Despite these mean-spirited comments on social media, in true Texas fashion, the communities have bound together. For days I have watched my friends checking on each other through Facebook and social media and making sure everyone was safe, people are taking boats through flooded neighborhoods and risking their lives trying to rescue those in need and take them to safety, as well, people are offering up their homes and businesses for those who are displaced. They are offering food and water to anyone who needs it. It doesn’t matter what nationality, creed, color, or political affiliation they are. If you need help, there are people who want to give it. Simply put, it’s because they care and want to best for their fellow-man.

Moreover, the emergency responders should be commended for their fast acting response. Many haven’t slept in days because of the overwhelming need for assistance. As well, because the city cannot keep up with the need for emergency assistance, good Samaritan are coming from near and far to help those in need.

Don’t let anyone tell you that this nation is divided.#HoustonStrong #Houston #HoustonFlood#HurricaneHarvery #Harvey #rescue pic.twitter.com/5CicswWr18

— Joshua Reynolds (@joshjreynolds) August 28, 2017

Rather than spending time making these crass comments on the internet, here’s a novel idea, why don’t you do something proactive and help another human being. Organize a donation center for the victims of this disaster. For instance, many of you have seen a nursing home in Dickinson, TX had to evacuate the elderly. Supplies and donations could be sent there or you could make a donation to the American Red Cross to help with the rescue endeavors they are pursuing. There is so much more we can be doing than turning our backs to those in need. We should all be asking ourselves what has happened to humanity? How have we gotten so far away from caring for those in need? Instead of doing what we can to help we sit and make comments about how they don’t deserve help? We are better than that.

To sum this up, folks, please be sensitive and mindful of what others are going through. Some people are losing everything they have from this storm. My family is battling this storm and in the midst of fighting to save their homes, they are offering refuge to those in need. Let’s all take a lesson from that. Have open and caring hearts and remember that during these times we need to bind together and help our countrymen, not turn our back on them.

Stay strong Texas!

WATCH: Cop Refuses to Help Man Hit By a Truck, Cared Only About His Immigration Status

Key West, FL — The police, Americans are told, are her to protect and serve. When the citizens are in trouble and in need of help, the police are but a phone call away and can quickly arrive on the scene to render aid or arrest the bad guys. However, the reality of this situation is far more complex and, in reality, many ways a fiction. Case in point, Marcos Huete — a cyclist hit by an SUV in need of medical care — received only interrogation and contempt when a Monroe County Sheriff’s deputy showed up to ‘help.’

As Huete lay bleeding on the ground, the first words out of the officer’s mouth are not, “are you okay?” or, “can you move,” they’re “Speak English?” followed immediately by, “You’re illegal? Are you a legal citizen or no?”

Huete was on his way to work when a GMC Sierra SUV hit his back tire, according to the traffic accident report. On top of being entirely unconcerned about the injured man who’d just been hit by a truck, this cop didn’t seem interested in the details of the accident either.

As Huete sat bleeding, the deputy continued, “You got ID? Passport, visa, what?”

Not until the officer interrogated the injured man for several minutes did another deputy even ask him, “You want an ambulance or no?”

Huete then called his sister Olga who quickly showed up at the scene and helped her brother get to the hospital.

As Univision reports:

According to his sister, Olga Huete, after he was discharged from the hospital a police officer told them to return to the scene of the accident. “He did not tell us why, but we went back because my brother had not done anything. We had no reason to flee.

Once there, he says he was fined $75 by a Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FHP) officer for causing the accident. The incident report accuses Huete of obstructing/hindering traffic and listed his injury severity as “possible.”

Huete allegedly “darted out in front” of the pickup as it turned right across a marked crosswalk striking the rear tire of Huete’s bicycle. The officer decided that the driver, a 45-year-old Key West woman, was not at fault.

Olga noted the complete lack of investigation into the incident. She noted how the woman, who’d just struck a man on a bicycle was allowed to quickly drive away after giving her version of the events that unfolded — which were quickly accepted as fact by the officer. No one cared to hear Huete’s version.

READ MORE:  Man and a Cop Fight Over Parking Space

Olga Huete says that while they don’t have papers, she is outraged by what she called the lack of justice in blaming her brother after he was the victim, according to Univision. She said the woman driving the pickup was allowed to drive away “as if it was nothing.”

“The fact that we do not have papers does not mean that we do not have rights,” she said.

Within minutes of returning to the scene, border patrol showed up and immediately demanded Huete’s ‘papers’ — papers which he does not have.

According to the Border Patrol, Huete has a deportation order dating back to 2010 and is being held at Krome pending arrangements being made for his removal. He’s now facing criminal charges for being in the US after being told to leave.

Regardless of your views on immigration, to ignore a fellow human’s suffering to carry out some arbitrary questioning shows an utter abandonment of humanity and a clear sign of a society in a crisis of conscience.

“Asking for immigration status to a person after being hit by a car offends human rights sensitivity and is very counterproductive for effective law enforcement,” said Howard Simon, executive director of the Florida chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

“The moment these agents become the mass deportation force of President [Donald] Trump will be the end of any cooperation between immigrant communities in the United States and the local police,” said Simon.

First, they came for the foreigners….

Volcanoes Around the World are Springing to Life

There are few things in nature as fascinating as volcanoes. There are also few things that are as deadly. There are regular old volcanoes, and there are super-volcanoes. Super-volcanoes have the capacity to wipe out civilization, and one such super-volcano in Italy appears to be waking from a 500-year slumber. [1]

Monte Nuovo (year 1538). Click for larger version.

Rumored to have caused the extinction of the Neanderthals, the nearly 5-mile wide Campi Flegrei super-volcano sits on the Italian coast. Researchers are concerned that it is approaching a critical pressure point that could lead to an eruption. There are close to 500,000 people living around it.

When you picture a volcano, you picture smoke and lava erupting from its peak. But super-volcanoes are quite different. Imagine Yellowstone National Park. Super-volcanoes are formed when a volcano ejects so much magma from its center that it actually collapses on itself, leaving behind extensive fields of volcanic activity, a vast crater, as well as numerous geysers, hydrothermal activity, and sulphuric acid.

Read: Yellowstone Super-Volcano  – 10% Chance of Erupting Within 80 Years

The Campi Flegrei super-volcano is made up of 24 craters and large volcanic edifices, many of which are submerged beneath the Mediterranean Sea. It formed 39,000 years ago, as part of the largest eruption Europe has experienced in the last 200,000 years.

Since its formation, Campi Flegrei has experienced 2 major eruptions – 35,000 years ago, and 12,000 years ago. A smaller eruption occurred in 1538. That “smaller” eruption, however, lasted for 8 days and spewed so much material into the surrounding area, it formed a new mountain, Monte Nuovo.

You get the point – even a “small” eruption is a huge event, so a major eruption could be catastrophic.

The eruption that occurred 200,000 years ago is believed to have triggered a “volcanic winter” that wiped out the Neanderthals. That’s pure speculation, but scientists say the eruption spewed some 1 trillion gallons of molten rock onto the surface and just as much sulphur into the atmosphere.

Source: CNN

The Critical Pressure Point

A team of researchers from the Italian National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology are watching Campi Flegrei very closely because the super-volcano appears to be approaching a critical pressure point that could trigger a 3rd major eruption.

ScienceAlert explains:

“This critical pressure point – referred to as critical degassing pressure (CDP) – could drive volcanic unrest towards a critical state, the team reports, by releasing jets of super-hot gas into the atmosphere, heating the surrounding hydrothermal fluids and rocks, and causing rock failure and possibly an eruption.”

Volcanologist Giovanni Chiodini says:

“Hydrothermal rocks, if heated, can ultimately lose their mechanical resistance, causing an acceleration towards critical conditions.”

Campi Flegrei has been experiencing an “uplift” for the past decade, which suggests that the volatile gases beneath it are rising to the surface at an accelerating rate. This has prompted Italian authorities to raise the super-volcano’s alert level from green (“quiet”) to yellow (“requires scientific monitoring.”)

Uplift has signaled volcanic eruptions in the past, most notably with Rabaul in Papua New Guinea and Sierra Negra in the Galapagos.

No one is telling local residents to run for their lives just yet, because it is impossible to predict what, if anything, Campi Negrei might do. Chiodini says:

“We have many uncertainties and long-term previsions are at the moment not possible! For example, the process that we describe could evolve in both directions: toward pre-eruptive conditions or to the finish of the volcanic unrest.”

Chiodini and his team hope that their latest observations will spur other researchers to monitor Campi Flegrei in the coming years, so people have some idea of just how catastrophic another major eruption could be.

Problems in Peru

Two volcanoes in Peru have roared to life, leading to widespread fear and mass evacuations. [2]

On December 26, at 8:24 a.m., the Sabancaya volcano, which sits just 40 miles from Peru’s second most populous city, Arequipa, began spitting smoke and ash some 11,500 feet into the air just over a week after it became active.

Local authorities have warned the local inhabitants that they are likely to be affected by the ash from the 20,000-foot volcano, whose name translates to “tongue of fire” in the local dialect of Quechua.

Sabancaya had been dormant for 200 years until it began erupting in the 1980’s.

Just 60 miles away, the Ubinas volcano is also in the midst of spewing smoke and ash 2 miles into the atmosphere. It is Peru’s most active volcano, and was last active in April 2014. Ubinas had been dormant for about 40 years before rumbling back to life in 2006.

Authorities began evacuating the surrounding area earlier this week.

Peruvian Geophysical Institute (IGP) investigator Orlando Macedo said:

“All this activity is part of an expected process. Before the eruption, tremors were occurring closer and closer to the volcano and the crater. However, the process is taking longer than that which we saw at the Ubinas Volcano, when everything happened in a matter of days. In the case of Sabancaya, this could go on for several months.”

Other Areas of Concern

There was a lot of moving and shaking in December 2016.

Mount St. Helens in Washington State experienced an earthquake “swarm” of some 120 shallow temblors over the course of several days. It is considered active, but an eruption could be years away. [3]

Source: Oregon Live – Mount St. Helens

On the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East, the Shiveluch volcano blew its top, destroying the small lava dome/plug in its crater and generating a 36,000-foot ash plume. Fortunately, the ash drifted to an uninhabited area, but an orange aviation alert was issued to warn airlines of the ash plume.

In Costa Rica, antennas on Irazu will have to be moved because of cracking on the volcano. It is unknown whether the cracking is related to any potential changes in the Irazu volcano, or if the surface blocks are just faulting.

The infamous Hawaiian volcano Kilauea experienced a small explosion, sending huge chunks of debris flying, including old wall rock and lava from the lava lake. This is a fairly common occurrence.

Lastly, scientists have noticed an increase in seismicity at Cayambe in Ecuador. An earthquake swarm that occurred there over several days in December indicate that Cayambe, like Mount St. Helens, is recharging, but no eruption appears to be imminent.

Sources:

[1] ScienceAlert

[2] Express

[3] Wired

Wired

CNN

Oregon Live

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Ray Kurzweil Predicts Humans Will Merge with Computers by 2029

Technological singularity – humans becoming one with computers – will morph us into “super humans” by the year 2029. Fake news? A new science fiction novel? TV show? Nope. It’s a prediction made by Google’s Director of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil. He’s made 147 predictions since the 1990’s, and he has an 86% success rate. [1]

Source: International Business Times

A few of Kurzweil’s predictions that came true:

• In 1999, Kurzweil predicted that “personal computers are available in a wide range of sizes and shapes, and are commonly embedded in clothing and jewelry such as wristwatches, rings, earrings and other body ornaments” by 2009.

• Also in 1999, Kurzweil foresaw that “individuals primarily use portable computers” by 2009.

• In 2000, Kurzweil said that by 2010, “[Computers] will tap into the worldwide mesh of high-speed communications and computational resources.” [2]

Many of Kurzweil’s technology predictions didn’t come to pass, but he has a pretty good track record.

According to Kurzweil, we live in a cybernetic society and we will eventually have computers in our brains, and machines will be more intelligent than humans. And, he says, it’s already happening. He points to people’s addictions to their smartphones as proof, and believes that wiring this technology into our brains will be the next step in the progression. [1]

Read: Top Transhumanism CEO Says AI Singularity Will Go ‘Very Badly For Humans’

The scientific explanation of “singularity” is when carbon and silicon-based intelligence will merge to form a single global consciousness.

Kurzweil says:

“By 2029, computers will have human-level intelligence. That leads to computers having human intelligence, our putting them inside our brains, connecting them to the cloud, expanding who we are.

Today, that’s not just a future scenario. It’s here, in part, and it’s going to accelerate.” [1]

This might sound like a frightening scenario to you or me, but Kurzweil sees this as a positive thing that will only make us better humans.

“We’re going to get more neocortex, we’re going to be funnier, we’re going to be better at music. We’re going to be sexier. We’re really going to exemplify all the things that we value in humans to a greater degree.” [1]

Read: Many Brits Believe Technology Could Take Over Humanity by 2036

Kurzweil’s AI vision occurs nearer in the future than those of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking and Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son. Hawking has said he believes singularity may occur by 2045, and Son has said he thinks we’ll have computers in our brains in the next 30 years. [3]

At an October press conference discussing details of his upcoming $100 billion investment fund, Son said:

“I think a big paradigm shift is coming. The biggest theme in my view is the Singularity. I think it is coming into reality in the next 30 years. For that vision, I am exercising that strategy. $100 billion is an interesting size of ammunition. In my view, that is the beginning. My passion is bigger than many people think.” [3]

But billionaire tech mogul Elon Musk, of SpaceX and Tesla fame, is terrified that AI will be the end of humanity, and warns that people might one day be ruled by robots. Musk believes artificial intelligence could be a bigger threat than nuclear weapons, and has likened improving AI to “summoning the demon.” If humans don’t merge with machines, Musk warns, they will become irrelevant. [4]

Source: Daily Mail

Stephen Hawking shares similar concerns. He once wrote:

“If a superior alien civilisation sent us a message saying, ‘We’ll arrive in a few decades,’ would we just reply, ‘OK, call us when you get here—we’ll leave the lights on’? Probably not—but this is more or less what is happening with AI.” [5]

Read: Top Transhuman CEO Says AI Singularity Will Go “Very Badly for Humans”

Singularity has the potential to boost the human race or destroy it, depending on whom you ask. The question is, is that a risk humans should take?

Sources:

[1] Daily Mail

[2] Business Insider

[3] Fox News

[4] Time

[5] The Independent

International Business Times

Daily Mail

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About Julie Fidler:
	Julie Fidler is a freelance writer, legal blogger, and the author of Adventures in Holy Matrimony: For Better or the Absolute Worst. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two ridiculously spoiled cats. She occasionally pontificates on her blog.

Scientists Model Spread of Zombie Apocalypse: “Just 100 Survivors Remain Uninfected After 100 Days”

The future tends towards the path of greatest destruction, perhaps, because the system has been set up for such a fall.

It has indeed been rigged to extract wealth from the body politic. The people have been squashed down economically into revolutionary masses, and as the system is cracking apart, and all the corruption is spilling over at the centers, out in the mainland, the people have become easily provoked, yet quick to follow and slow question the reality of what is going on.

One way or another, society is being ‘shocked’ and then goaded into submission by a succession of catastrophes, terror events and dismal news stories. Only a relative few would be prepared to avoid the worst of the crisis, and outlive whatever may spread through fear and desperation.

Unsurprisingly, it seems to be an almost-real possibility that a wave of humanity could be zombified by the creeping malaise of collapse, or an outbreak caused by biological warfare, mishaps in lab research, a mutation in vaccines or some other derivative cause of our own doing…

Apparently, the possibility is real enough that scientists have calculated and modeled the frightening rapidity with which humanity would be culled by such a disaster. And for that matter, you could add an EMP, a massive seismic event, or even a hacking event.

Humans have become very fragile, and vulnerable to devoured by their own kind.

According to the Daily Mail:

Zombies could exterminate humanity in less than six months, according to recent research.

Researchers developed a complex new formula which calculates that 100 days into a zombie outbreak, just over 100 survivors will be left uninfected.

And within six months, these stragglers will also die or become zombies themselves.

Students at Leicester University … developed a mathematical model for disease that predicts how an infection will spread through a population over time. It predicts the rate at which infections spread and die off as humans come into contact with one another.

In their model, for instance, they did not account for humans killing zombies.

Could a global pandemic of epic proportions descend upon humanity? It seems that there are all too many scenarios where this could indeed occur, and there are clearly preparations for it.

The CDC, Homeland Security, FEMA, the Pentagon and other agencies have all used simulated zombie outbreaks to model their emergency responses.

Though the scenarios themselves are fictional, the plans to seize hard power via martial law is no joke:

Military planners assigned to the U.S. Strategic Command … looked for a creative way to devise a planning document to protect citizens in the event of an attack of any kind.The officers used zombies as their muse.

[…]

“Given the rapidity at which zombie outbreaks spread, decisive, overwhelming, and possibly unilateral military force may be required to negate the zombie threat.”

“Given the likelihood of an all out threat to ‘human survival’, it is likely that this plan will be executed with a declaration of martial law with CONUS and U.S. territories. (source)

Though there are a few particulars that are best left to Hollywood, the basics of preparing to survive if/when all of the population becomes a danger is solid enough to go on – and would generally apply to nearly any major crisis.

A UK researcher found that a decent number of people are relatively prepared for basic survival and basic medical responses, but would be inadequately prepared to rebuild society after the crisis has passed – for the few who made it, as the Daily Mail notes:

People were reasonably confident that they could handle basic first aid if disaster were to strike, with 68 per cent rating themselves as average to good, but just over half (53 per cent) thought that they had the skills to grow crops or rear animals. 

While food, medical supplies and mobiles phones were top of the list for a survival pack…

Professor Lewis Dartnell, a UK Space Agency research fellow based at the University of Kent, advised that a survival bag should contain: ‘a fire-starting kit, water bottle, small knife, rope and food’… only 22 per cent thought to include matches in their survival kit, while only 10 per cent would take a bottle, which could be used to disinfect water.

‘Clearly we shouldn’t be worrying twenty four seven about a potential apocalypse but it’s interesting to take a snap shot of where we are now and how we’d fare – individually and as a society,’ said Professor Dartnell. “People’s survival instincts are strong but without a greater focus on STEM skills, the speed at which we’d return to ‘society as we know it’ would be seriously impeded.”

For those who manage to survive the apocalypse and wish to start re-building society, the research scientist and author says that ‘electricity, soap, charcoal, a lathe to craft things with, and glass’ are the most important things to make.

Here’s one recommendations for the kind of weapons and equipment you may need. Remember, staying warm and covering the basics is just as important as any fighting force that you may stock up on:

Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit

“Zombie Preppers” was even turned into a Discovery Channel episode – though it is questionable if it encourages prepping, or seeks to ridicule it once again.

Nonetheless, it’s theme is: “Zombies are real, they’re just not what you think they are.”

In other words, society is poised to unravel during widespread collapse and unrest, so you should be ready if you don’t want to be dragged down with them.

The bottom line is, only a few people are going to survive a disaster this big. Are you one of them?

Read more:

The Prepper’s Blueprint: How To Survive Anything… Even Zombies

The Pentagon’s Counter-Zombie Martial Law Plan: ‘Concentrate Firepower to the Head’

The Walking Dead: 7 Mistakes That Would Get Somebody Killed in a Real Zombie Apocalypse

How to Prepare for the Zombie Apocalypse

What Do You Prep For: The Zombie Apocalypse: “Assume The Just In Time Infrastructure That Supplies Our Society Breaks Down”

To Save Humanity’s Knowledge from Extinction, Researchers are Preserving It in An Incredible New Way

In 1859, the sun blasted Earth with a giant cloud of solar plasma, blowing out telegraph systems around the world and wreaking havoc with electrical pylons. It became known as the Carrington Event. Coronal mass ejections hit our planet about once every 100 years, making us due for another one.

Only this time, it would be catastrophic to our digital world. Resulting electromagnetic surges from a solar storm “could render our electronic devices useless and wipe data stored in memory drives.”

This is one scenario motivating the Memory of Mankind project. Academics, universities, newspapers and libraries are collaborating to preserve the accumulated knowledge of our time onto 8-inch ceramic plates and store them in an Australian salt mine.

“Each of these tablets can hold up to five million characters – about the same as a four-hundred-page book. They are acid- and alkali-resistant and can withstand temperatures of 1300C. A second type of tablet can carry colour pictures and diagrams along with 50,000 characters before being sealed with a transparent glaze.”

The technology draws inspiration from Sumerian clay tablets that lasted 5,000 years in the Iraqi desert, which proved invaluable to our understanding of that ancient civilization. Memory of Mankind intends for their “ceramic microfilm” to last millennia or even through an Ice Age, allowing future peoples to study our time.

“We are trying to create something that will not only be a collection of information for a distant future, but it will also be a gift for our grandchildren,” said Martin Kunze, developer of the project. “Memory of Mankind can serve as a backup of knowledge in case of an event like war, a pandemic or a meteorite that throws us back centuries within two or three generations. A society can lose skills and knowledge very quickly – in the 6th Century, Europe largely lost the ability to read and write within three generations.”

Nuclear holocaust, malicious hackers, careless government officials or simply losing the ability to read our digital records are among the scenarios that could render entire sections of humanity unknown to history. So much of our knowledge record is only in digital format now – including scientific papers and video footage – as well as records of personal stories and life events.

“In some distant future after our own civilisation has vanished, they could prove invaluable to any who find them. They could help resurrect forgotten knowledge for cultures less advanced than our own, or provide a wealth of historical information for more advanced civilisations to ensure our own achievements, and our mistakes, can be learned from.”

It could even be other forms of intelligent life form that benefit from the treasure trove of knowledge. But how will the ceramic plates, buried under a mountain, be found and translated?

Everyone taking part in the project is being given a small engraved token with a map of the location, which they can bury at strategic locations or pass down to the next generation. The team has also been creating their own Rosetta Stone, with names and meanings attached to images.

A conference of scientists, historians, archaeologists, linguists and philosophers is taking place this month to create a blueprint for should be included in this repository of knowledge.

In addition to the world’s most significant books, revolutionary scientific papers, and images of precious objects from museums, stories and objects from everyday life will be captured onto the ceramic disks. They will also warn future civilization about nuclear waste dumps.

To immortalize the importance of true freedom fighters exposing the corruption of government, “a plate detailing the story of Edward Snowden and his leak of classified material from the US National Security Agency.”

If the Memory of Mankind project seems rather uninspiring now, imagine how archaeologists felt when they discovered those ancient Sumerian tablets. What would our understanding of human history be without them?