Issue 301 Terror of tech!!! March27, 2013

Have you though maybe technology s moving a little too fast? I did not think so at first, but after some shows featuring staff from Google and other tech and economics gurus, I began to worry. So here is why.

Can't keep pace: Technology is growing by leaps and bounds. Machines do our laundry, our dishes, and even wake us up in the morning (no need for mom or a butler). Soon, technology will be driving us to work in completely automated vehicles. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York City has discussed having their trains be completely automated with a single staff member to trouble shoot for problems. However, currently 2 people are on staff at any given time on the subways. So this means people will loose their job. Once the technology is deemed acceptable and safe, that other staff member may be replaced as well, leaving the train with no human personnel to drive or monitor it from on board. Similar discussions have taken place with respect to flying plains and even to the concept of the flying car. Would you let a plain fly you from Japan to California without a pilot? Well with technology, this is in fact feasible.

Let's look at medicine. A sonogram machine has been reduced in size to that of a smart phone for the smaller cost of $2,500 on the cheapest (regular machines can cost well over $30,000). Heart monitors along with other brain and life reading devices has also been shrunk and automated leaving doctors to interpret the readings themselves without any need to have the patient see a specialist (cheaper for the patient obviously). Another device in the works is a litmus testing device to diagnose diseases on the spot eliminating the need to see a doctor for diagnosis of various pathogens.

Then we have basic retail. There really is no need for a cashier when you have radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. It works like a barcode, but sends out short wave transmissions instead once hit by an electronic signal. These RFID chips identify the item you are buying without it ever having to leave your shopping cart. So in the future you may see a device that looks similar to a small metal detector that will scan all your items instantly and then all you have to do is pay a robot at checkout once you have finalized your cart. Oh, and don't bother looking for people on the floor restocking shelves. This too will be done by robots as they already have specialized machines doing this job in where houses with it only being a matter of time and money before you see it in our own home towns.

The terror: With the aforementioned examples, you can see allot of basic jobs and high level jobs becoming outmoded, or reduced in function. This affects us all as we will be forced to find more higher level technology jobs in order to just make a living. It has been estimated by some executives at Google that by 2030, if the pace does not slow down, over 60% of the jobs in the United States alone will be lost to technology.

Conclusion: Do not get me wrong, technology is a good thing. However, we have to check how fast we let ourselves be consumed by it. If we do not look into how to adapt to the changing business and job environment, we may face imminent peril. Sure, newer and higher paying jobs will result which will balance out the job losses for future generations; however our concern must lay with those in the immediate term. Those people who will loose their jobs to a cold heartless machine will need to be retrained to work in new fields or work at other jobs which may make light of their skills and accomplishments. So I ask you all to think and be prepared for possible upheavals in the job market and even maybe think of ways to slow it down so that people will not have to suffer.

Issue 300 Ghost in the Shell?! March 26, 2014

 
We are ghosts inhabiting a shell made of flesh, but what of the internet and the desktop computer as another type of shell. The Internet itself is a shell with massive amounts of data which interact at any given time and that in the shell of cyberspace, an intelligent life form can form. Kind of hard to describe in a few words, so let's discuss to make it a little easier.

Concept: The Internet is filled with data. I addition, the Internet has viruses, programs and other applications happening all at once. Some of that data even gets lost. On top of this, some of these programs and viruses are designed to either collect data or to mimic other programs. As artificial intelligence programs also get lost on the Internet, they too get mixed in this soup of data. From this point some scientists believe life from this lost data collecting together can spontaneously erupt.

Questions: If you are asking yourself "why is he bringing this topic to his blog?" then I will tell you there is a reason. The first reason is that it is an interesting concept and the idea that life can form spontaneously like this is just fascinating. Another, but more important reason is because we all will be interacting with computers on a more personal basis in the future. They already have systems to read brainwaves which are used to move objects like wheelchairs for the disabled with more applications to come. Some scientists are trying to hook up their brains to the Internet so as to explore other possibilities of the man and machine interface. With that said, this brings us to yesterdays issue on down loadable soldiers. Can a human mind survive cyberspace and come out the same person? And can life actually form on the internet without help?

Of the mind and cyberspace: I believe that the human mind is still too complex for a computer to understand. While programs can mimic human learning and some basic emotions, they cannot feel the way we do. As such, if we were to dump our brains into a computer, it is my personal belief we will loose emotion. In short, we will become as cold as the machine itself due to our brains being too complex to copy. On top of this, it is my feeling that the human mind will loose all sense of self if exposed to something as vast as the Internet. All that data is now also interacting with yourself and being shared. In short, a passing cyber virus or program may just rip a part of your mind off and move on, leaving you with gaps in both memory and maybe even physically damaged and disabled.

Let us also not forget about hackers. Another worry is if the mind somehow survives the riggers of cyberspace, will it survive a cyber attack. Imagine the president of the United States has his mind cyberized that allows him/her to access the net with a thought. Then you remember the interaction goes both ways where even the president can be hacked into and maybe even taken over. That is one of the most serious "forms" of cyber attack on cyberized humans, with others being surveillance or just copying memories of both personal or even financial data. Scary is it not?

With the aforementioned said, data colleting together will not form an intelligent life form. Sure there are programs designed to eat lost bits of data, but that data must be useful in some way to bring forth life. So unless it can learn like a human can then it will not work. Yes they do have learning robots with a certain level of intelligence, but intelligent life is not just knowledge alone. It is also emotion which can only be mimicked by commuters. As such, even if the data collects into something that can interact in some way with humans, it cannot surpass humans with respect to the fact that it has no emotion. Therefore, it cannot be considered truly alive.

Conclusion: I personally think the Internet is much too vast to actually create life on its own. However, I do think with people starting to think they can interact with it beyond the physical level; the risks of our ghost in our fleshy shells are put at risk of loosing ourselves. More and more we must think upon the ethics and implications of technology and its dangers in addition to its benefits. While the ideas of life on the net (ours or artificial) is intriguing, it does not mean it should be attempted without proper precautions and measured risk.

Issue 299 Downloadable soldier March 25, 2014

This is frightening and astounding. The men who own Google have written that in the future it may be possible to download a soldier the moment he/she dies in battle to a computer and then later place them in a new body. Let's discuss.

The concept: Like I stated in my introduction, the idea that a person who dies can be downloaded into a computer is a bit far fetched with current technology. But, is it a feasible concept? The advantages are that the overall experiences of that soldier can be preserved rather than loosing a valuable resource or even having to train a brand new soldier. On top of this it may be possible to download anyone who dies and give them a new body, thus eliminating deaths on the battlefield and at home. Intriguing is it not?

Other possibilities from this: This may also allow people to experience other people’s lives on a very personal level. You can share memories of your choosing (or steal them for that matter) to anyone you like. No more need for schools as math and science can be downloaded to the child in a matter of seconds. Weird, but it is feasible in the future envisioned by the members of the Google team.

Fear: I have questions. For one, can this technology really benefit us? I mean, if we download a soldier who has just died will they still be themselves? In short, can a soul be transferred from a body, to a computer and into a new body? Will it still be a human being or some expendable machine that serves to fill in a flashy robot with the experiences to fight and die over and over for our country? Even the idea of possibly sharing memories with each other in this way is dangerous as how would it affect the person receiving those memories. Would that person still be the individual you know? These are questions that must be answered and may even lead to more.

Conclusion: Why do I bring this to your attention? Simple, because this has to be discussed. The technology if left unchecked is very scary in its potential for things to go wrong. Can we treat the soul as just a bunch of memories? What is the soul and how can it interact with modern and future technology? Are there social consequences or other repercussions to be had? It comes down to ethics and ensuring that while capable of doing something, that we know the potential consequences and whether or not it should be done. So enjoy the discussion of what is to come for it is more important than you may think.

Issue 298 Why invest in technology March 24, 2014

Ladies and Gentlemen, technology is taking over. It is only a matter of time before the rise of the machine takes away many jobs of the past. But why?

The cause: Government has been one of the main culprits of causing the decline of the traditional worker. Mandates of health care, taxation in many forms and regulations have all compounded to make hiring new workers very difficult for businesses to do. As such, businesses reacted by reducing personnel hours and even investing in alternate methods of serving people that do not require people.

Then there is the tech industry. Ever looking toward the future, these inventors, tech moguls and more look to improve life by making either more convenient, solving key niche problems or just trying to be innovative in the market place. Thus, tech companies are driving the other half of the push toward a technology oriented and high skilled job future.

Reactions: Due to the government interference with regulations and other burdens, companies have been exchanging people with self checkout machines. Others have replaced workers in the dull, dirty and dangerous jobs with automation and robots. This is why you see robots mining in some places, robots welding car parts together and a single operator able to control an entire factory floor from the safety of a clean noise free office. This is only going to expand as now companies are looking at robots that assist people in their daily lives as a form of assistant. Some have been envisioned as aiding workers in lifting crates and depositing them where needed, helping assist in the operating rooms or acting as repositories of information so that the human can focus on the intuitive aspects of the task over the mundane parts. What the future holds is not stopping as even taxis and later commercial motor vehicles begin to be automated. It is a hard future to see, but it is clear, mankind is getting a future where they interact more with a machine rather than another human.

Conclusion: Based on these pieces of information I have acquired from the news (Economist, Blaze, NY Times, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics, Science Channel, etc) it is important to invest in technology. By doing so you can get rich on this growing and very broad field of business that is sure to change the way we live and how we look at the world.

Issue 297 Electoral reform March 21, 2014

Elections are essential for a Republic like the United States. They determine our Representatives and thus determine the direction the nation is headed. But there is corruption involved which secures the two main political parties as power brokers and thus limits alternative candidates. Rather than focus on the corruption here, I would like to discuss an alternative to the current rules so that anyone can run for office without the political manipulations.

The idea: The idea is simple; create an account for each individual running for office. Yea, it is not necessarily that simple. These accounts belong to each candidate and are monitored by a body that ensures that the money comes from U.S. citizens or businesses. These accounts are given to each person running for office so that all individuals who have decided to run for office have a centralized fund that can be monitored by the public to detect unlawful use and spot for other forms of corruption. So under this system, no individual is left out of running for office unlike the current system where you have to achieve a certain popularity rating.

How it works: A similar idea is to create an account that is shared equally between both candidates to use does not sit well with me. It does not take into account that individuals giving money to a candidate is a form of the freedom of speech. So having individual accounts makes sense. Also, currently, individuals are limited to how much they can donate to a campaign (even though the loopholes favor the two main political parties). As such, that limitation would be eradicated so that people would be able to donate as much as they please (including businesses) to their candidate with one stipulation. That stipulation is that all donations are anonymous. This prevents the candidates from knowing who actually donated to their campaign which prevents future kick backs to an extent. It also prevents political backlash by the other candidates who may win and want to punish those who did not support them. So this is how it works.

Conclusion: This idea is not 100% perfect, that I know. But I also know it is at least better than our current election rules that thrive on corruption and solidify the Democrat and Republican power base. As such, I submit this idea which protects your privacy and freedom of speech to you my dear readers. Critique it as you may, I am open to all improvements.

Issue 296 Constitutional Changes March 20, 2014

In this issue I will discuss what changes I want to see done to the Constitution. I will limit mine to 3 topics however: term limits, national debt, and the federal bureaucracy. Let's begin.

Term Limits: The term limit issue is popular and it is also important. We already have had Presidents in their final terms of office break their promises and do what they felt like as they no longer where beholden to the electorate to be re-elected. As such, this mistake cannot be repeated in the instances of the Congress who do need term limits. So how should it be done? For me, I would first increase the terms of the members of the House of Representatives to three year terms instead of the current two year term. My purpose here is to have 1/3 of the body being changed every single year so that the people can react faster to an obtrusive or tyrannical leaning government. But what does this have to do with term limits you ask? Well, I would limit the House of Representatives to three full terms, but they cannot be consecutive. So a member of the House would be able to serve a total of nine years, but because it is not consecutive they would be forced to leave congress for 3 full years (or run for an entirely different office). This ensures that they will still be beholden to the people because they will want to be re-elected later and also interferes with lobbyist keeping their pet politicians in office.

As to the Senate. I would keep the traditional six year term, but limit it to two terms again not being consecutive. This again has the same advantages of protecting against elected officials ignoring their constituents and hurting lobbyist efforts of making more pets out of politicians. I would like to see the State legislatures choose the Senators instead of the direct method used by the people now so as to protect State interests from Federal overreach as well. This method of being chosen by the State legislatures was overturned by the 17th amendment in an effort to create a purer democracy, but if you are a student of history you will know that pure democracies are 100% unstable and prone to mob rule. By returning the decision to the State legislatures it also provides opportunities for a swifter recall as the State legislatures could recall Senators (pre 17th amendment) if they failed in their duties or went out of control (I am also open to recall votes for members of the House of Representatives by the people as well).

Debt: We all can agree the national debt is a major security risk and needs to be addressed. So I believe a balanced budget amendment will be the best way to solve this issue. The balanced budget amendment I have in mind is very simple. It would require that the Federal Government cannot spend more money than it takes in via tax revenues. Yes it is that simple. The government cannot spend more than what the tax payers give it. I specify tax revenues because the idiots at the Federal government also include loans to the Federal government as part of income. Separating the debt from revenues is a must. Also, an additional provision will be added that dictates that all interest on current debt must be paid first before all other spending each and every year. This insures our current debt goes down. However, being able to issue debt is an important function. So bonds issued to the people will still be allowable under this amendment and used specifically to fund government and cannot be used in other ways. Money left over from the budget and the bonds will be used to pay off any additional debts the Federal government has incurred. There is an issue here though, as government may need to incur additional debt beyond what they get through savings bonds. So the only way they can burrow from a foreign country or private bank (or other private institution) beyond private individuals is in specific circumstances. Those circumstances will be limited to Congress declaring war on another country (no exception) and a State of emergency declared by the Governor or State legislature due to a natural or man made incident. In this instance, the money burrowed is restricted to funding the war or the place where that the State of emergency has been declare, with any money left over being returned to pay off the debt. This prevents any abuses by the government that could result from this provision and makes it harder to put the nation in debt.

Federal Bureaucracy: Here is something simple. I would limit the Federal government to four key institutions and specify their powers. Those four are the Treasury, department of State, department of Defense and finally department of Interior. Each one will have a unique and specific role specified in the constitution and that no other institutions would be allowed to exist outside of these departments with their abilities not exceeding beyond what is specified by the constitution save for amendments being added that would change or alter their roles. All other components of the federal bureaucracy would vanish or be given to the State and local governments respectively.

Conclusion: There are plenty more changes that can be made or even these ideas can change form. Much needs to be done before an amendment can even be passed and even that is no guarantee. All I can say is that all ideas need to be discussed and vetted to ensure that any changes if any are done to the Constitution are done responsibly.

Issue 295 Convention of States March 19, 2014

Have you ever heard of a Convention of States? Well if you are a student of history or of government you should have. But let's go over what it is anyway.

What is it: The United States Constitution specifies two ways to amend the Constitution. One way is to have both houses of Congress vote on an amendment with a 2/3 majority required in both in order to pass the change. However, there is another harder way to amend the Constitution. That method is to have 2/3's of the State legislatures pass Constitutional reform so that an amendment can be added. This has not been done since the Articles of Confederation where replaced back in 1789 by the United States Constitution.

How it works: Well if you think the entire Constitution is going to be rewritten, then you are wrong. A Constitutional Convention can specify what topics or amendments they are allowed to address. So specifically saying that it will address term limits for elected members of Congress and for judges appointed to the Supreme Court would actually limit the convention to discussing and making amendments on those issues exclusively.

Some other examples of amendment topics that could be discussed at a convention of states:

• A balanced budget amendment
• A redefinition of the General Welfare Clause (the original view was the federal government could not spend money on any topic within the jurisdiction of the states)
• A redefinition of the Commerce Clause (the original view was that Congress was granted a narrow and exclusive power to regulate shipments across state lines--not all the economic activity of the nation)
• A prohibition of using international treaties and law to govern the domestic law of the United States
• A limitation on using Executive Orders and federal regulations to enact laws (since Congress is supposed to be the exclusive agency to enact laws)
• Imposing term limits on Congress and the Supreme Court
• Placing an upper limit on federal taxation
• Requiring the sunset of all existing federal taxes and a super-majority vote to replace them with new, fairer taxes

It is actually happening: The people of the United States are fed up with Washington D.C.'s politics and their wasteful spending. So a group calling itself Convention of States has begun an effort to begin an actual convention to fix our government. The examples above are their examples (but not limited to) of topics that they will be discussing at the convention itself. To read more go to this website: http://www.conventionofstates.com/

Conclusion: Am I worried that the members of this convention will overstep their boundaries? Well of course I am. So that is why I am writing this article, so that you, my dear reader can pay attention so as to keep them from being as corrupt as the members of the government. Stay strong and stay attentive my friends.