Response to npcu post

See original post here: http://newpolcom.rhul.ac.uk/npcu-blog/2009/1/7/the-future-of-the-internet-2020-and-beyond.htmlDoes anyone else feel that technology which reads your thought processes and translates them to the screen is slightly sinister? Gaping holes in internet security mean that people on the other side of the world can get my credit card details. If ones mind is integrated into the system, what else could people steal?

Also, online worlds are pretty addictive as they stand (here is an extreme example: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4137782.stm). With more sophisticated force feedback devices or even technology that bypasses our senses to go straight to the source (something like this maybe: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4411591.stm), will we still want to go out into the physical world where it is cold, pretty gray and we can’t fly/fight dragons/command armies/rule the world?

Lastly, the technical development of the internet is pretty exciting (if a little scary in its implications), but there are still good old fashioned worries about people being exposed to things they shouldn’t. Recently it has been suggested that we need some kind of internet bbfc warning system (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7800846.stm). Although I find the idea of censorship on the internet pretty abhorrent (especially when the suggestion comes from a government minister) and cannot see how it can be implemented, a truly immersive web will only compound the issue. Are we just opening up a realm of unfettered play, where we can safely do all the things we can’t in the real world? What are the ethical issues?

I think science fiction comes into its own here. The aforementioned William Gibson, as well as Isaac Asimov and Phillip K. Dick (to name but a few) all grappled with what technological development would mean for human society. A serious rereading may be in order.