Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

The Collective Voice of the Internet

Posted by michael on from the sorta-like-homer-simpson dept.

nycheetah submits a story about the collective voice of the internet. There's also a Bell Labs webpage with some more technical information about the project.

3 of 96 comments (clear)

  1. Forget about art. This is a weapon! by ArcSecond · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe they can use this principle for security, too... have some "Rain Man"-type sit in a chair and monitor the composite sounds of the internet, scanning for a particular pattern.

    I wonder what the sound of a DDOS would be? A waterfall? Maybe a port scan would be a rising set of tones? And some cop in a LOLITA chat room would sound like (what else?) the theme from Jaws.

    --

    I've got a bad attitude and karma to burn. Go ahead. Mod me down.

  2. Can the web become conscious? by Xavier000 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    People may think this is a ridiculous question, but perhaps one that needs to be asked. First to put it in context. Inside most human brains are about a billion connections that communicate to a greater and lesser extent to those synapses directly in contact with them. The collective 'noise' from the electrical charges between the synapses somehow gives form to human consciousness. The electrical energy helps store memories and a bunch of other things, too.
    I read an article once by an Australian author Peter Goldsworthhy (if anyone is interested it is in his book Navel Gazing) that pondered whether or not China could collectively gain a consciousness, based on the same principle. (A billion people, all in contact with those around them, much as synapses are). I don't know how many people are connected to the web, but using a healthy dose of hope and suspending disbelief, does anyone have any ideas on whether or not the web can gain a consciousness?

  3. Countless others... by archeopterix · · Score: 4, Interesting
    From the article:
    Countless others are with you when you browse the web, some reading the same words at the same time, and yet you have no way of sensing their presence.
    I remember a project that addressed this issue more directly - namely providing you with a client that allowed you to chat with folks visiting the same website. Cool idea, except for the privacy issues - the client of course had to report what websites you are visiting. The project was called 'gooey' or something similar. I guess it never took off. Well, they didn't have a Linux client, serves them right :-)