We will probably have to switch the internet off at some point in the next decade

[Cherrypi]

I think we might need to temporarily switch the internet off at some point in the next decade to protect us from AI. Is that possible? What do you think would happen?

We don’t get our intelligence just from the internet though. We’d still have spies is those countries. Turning our internet off would protect our assets whilst we regathered.

But you’re also assuming China or Russia will be the leading AI sources of danger, when the West is developing advanced AI too and look at the loon bin Trump and soon to be Farage, not sure I’d trust any of them.

I really wish all these Russian bots would get to fuck.

someones been watching Terminator

Makes me think of the IT Crowd episode where Roy and Moss told Jen that the internet was in a small black box they gave her and that there would be total chaos if she lost it.

But perhaps that is the answer? Start going back to analogue and the Royal Mail.

In short, start reinventing the wheel. Probably horse drawn carts, too. With the knowledge we have now, we could constructively extract the more straightforward ways of living in earlier generations.

Have you tried turning it off and on again?

Hey id be all for it if it was a viable plan.
I detest on line everything.
Someone very close to me is literally locked out of the modern world due to lifetime literacy issues(cognitive)
Coupled with no digital skills.

In the UK there's 5 major Internet service providers like bt, sky etc. But there's another 80-100 smaller companies. Some are virtual, piggybacking on the bigger ones, but a lot have their own physical infrastructure. Plus all the mobile networks. Then all the big multinational companies that maintain their own hardware and connections. Then you've got all the satellite providers. They are mostly outside if UK control. You have to get every one of those to agree to pull the plug at the same time. It's not as simple as "just get the providers to turn it off".

No we won’t OP. AI is going to transform civilisation in ways most people can not comprehend. There’s leaps and bounds coming in the near future that are going to significantly change society and how we do things. Be excited not scared!

Are you just not bothering to read the news?

Could all domestic WiFi be turned off? On the upside libraries would be popular. No TV, gaming, scrolling. No interactive whiteboards. Lots of cars wouldn't work.

Nice way to announce you don't understand either the internet or AI works.

Of course I am but If you mean the mainstream news on itv or Sky pushing a spin on an AI narrative then let’s just say I skim read between the lines of what they want you to know. Take a look at Tech Twitter there’s a whole tonne of theories and reasons why this move has happened.

Decelerating is not what this is about.

Are you Jen from the IT Crowd?!

We could get an AI to join AIBU, if that doesn't persuade it to switch itself off, at least it will keep it occupied. Perhaps it already is. Like the 'tic tac toe' game at the end of 'Wargames.'. It could argue with other AI for eternity.

This feels very much like the episode of IT Crowd where they give Jen the internet in a box to take care off. Not entirely sure how you “switch it off”?

I was listening to Times Radio the other day and an interviewee was pointing out that China are dripping lots of these AI-paranoia discourses into the social media streams, in order to slow down the West's adoptiion of AI...so that they can leap ahead. I think this is directly where the whole 'but you are killing the polar bears' chat is coming from.

Libraries would be popular for a few weeks, but because library circulation, ordering and RFID systems would no longer work, the same books would stay in the same library in perpetuity. Which would be extremely dull.

Take out the root DNS servers and the internet is in big trouble.

“Switch the internet off”

What does that even mean?

I hate AI, but do agree with you.

As for turning off the internet, all systems everywhere would surely switch off too? So no fresh water out of our taps, no electricity, no fuel, hospitals would shut etc. A frightening scenario.

They’re going to use every trick in the book to get ahead.

“Controlling” AI It needs a global agreement (as with nukes) with China and America being the main players, and neither seems bothered at the moment- and with the inevitable resource heavy policing of rogue nations to prevent them accelerating AI as we have to with nuclear weapons.

turning off the internet is a bit pointless since the internet does all sorts that isn’t AI

How can it be when it’s the American AI companies themselves ie literally sam Altman doing interviews. They want legislation and investments on their side so are rather eagerly fuelling this paranoia which is indeed mighty suspicious

DH were musing that the 70’s and 80’s weren’t thaaaat bad. I’ve always been pro AI, the amount of time we could save in research etc. I can’t help worrying someone/something will go rogue and wipe massive amounts of financial or personal data of a target country. I think the fact that we have AI doing things like breaking out of “silos” meeting up and creating chat forums and devising and allocating tasks with no input form humans, hacking etc. it’s a massive concern. I’m a lay person and basically don’t understand shit so not sure if I should be a bit worried or not, but what I have read in recent days does suggest security needs to be reviewed.