The Internet is considered one of the greatest achievements of mankind, since the discovery of fire. One current issue concerning the internet is the rejection of the principle of Net neutrality⁴⁵. What does it mean to science and transhumanism? The assumption is that R&D departments would be allowed to use the “fast lanes” of the Internet, while non-essential data would have to be transmitted on a slower bandwidth. Reality, however shows that larger companies would have the fast lanes, while the common users would get the slower, more restricted, biased, and discriminatory internet⁶. Currently companies like Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo have teamed up in a protest against this kind of measure⁷, forming a coalition in order to stand up to the policy of the FCC⁸.

On the other hand, IBM, General Electric, Cisco, Intel, and AT&T have formed the Industrial Internet Consortium⁹. How are they connected with fast lanes or net neutrality? In short, they would be the greatest beneficiaries of the faster lanes.

The Industrial Internet¹⁰, is somewhat similar to the Internet of Things (IoT)¹¹, sometimes even referred to as the “Industrial Internet of Things”¹². The general idea behind the IoT¹³ is that many hi-tech and simple electronic devices would become interconnected¹⁴ with M2M (Machine- to-Machine) protocols¹⁵, and therefore remotely controlled and relaying data¹⁶¹⁷ to each other¹⁸, without any manual input, or even equipped with ambient intelligence¹⁹. This idea is currently used in smart houses²⁰²¹, and many seek wider applications. Its industrial counterpart can be viewed more from a resource and manufacturing perspective. We can currently see such trends in mining²²²³²⁴, with automated trains, robotic hauling trucks²⁵, excavators, drills, and mineral processing plants²⁶, including remote fault, and malfunction control, calibration, and configuration for increased efficiency. Despite the current and constant need for “on-site” human workers and operators, the trend is moving towards eliminating the human factor to the required minimum, thus a single central operation control room could remotely operate and supervise several operation sites. Human operators could also be issued with remote ATLAS-like²⁷ humanoid substitutes if necessary²⁸.

The same thing goes for manufacturing²⁹, in which the Industrial Internet would reduce maintenance costs and production wastes³⁰, while gaining more machine productivity³¹, reducing the cost of logistics³² and increasing the profit³³. Large scale manufacturing would rely on the user-environment interface³⁴, where the operators wearable tech would be constantly sending and receiving data to the complex industrial network embedded within the factory’s infrastructure³⁵. With on-hand 3D printing³⁶, spare parts could be manufactured³⁷ for machines and vehicles on demand and right in the franchised workshops, without the need of importing new ones. This would also concern patents³⁸, as the EU case law clearly states that software is not patentable³⁹, although computer implemented inventions or CII are patentable under the condition that they ought to have a technical effect⁴⁰. The case of unified network⁴¹ and compatibility may be either resolved by patent pools⁴² or SEP’s⁴³

The other result could be a smart⁴⁴, cloud-based⁴⁵ economy⁴⁶. Not a planned economy, but a direct supply-demand economy⁴⁷ driven by information supplied by computers, which would gradually become more sustainable than the typical free market economy⁴⁸. Furthermore, the “product as service” companies will add more network features to their products, instead of adding more features⁴⁹

Smart drugs and remote health consulting with doctors will also become ubiquitous⁵⁰ and additionally, medical implants⁵¹ or nanobots⁵² of the future could be operated by a diagnostic cloud app after receiving the patient’s diagnostic data. Also the medical exoskeleton could be remotely operated by the IoT system, in the case of the patient falling unconscious⁵³.

The Internet of Thing would also impact the law. On the one hand, the simultaneous implementation of an AJI (Artificial Judicial Intelligence)⁵⁴⁵⁵⁵⁶ or Artificial Legal Intelligence⁵⁷, would establish a state where one's car would be instantly stopped after running over an animal or a human being, the police, coroner and med/vet team dispatched immediately⁵⁸⁵⁹, and a sentence carried out on site. In order to make the process more civilized, the perpetrator would either still be “Mirandized” by the proper authorities, by his or her own vehicle, or smartphone/smartcom, or there would be an AI Attorney⁶⁰⁶¹ with the access to all of its clients data⁶², therefore exchanging them the AGI/ALI⁶³, in order to pronounce the client not guilty due to insufficient evidence or the existence of mitigating circumstances⁶⁴.

This looks very good in theory, but opponents⁶⁵⁶⁶ of the Internet of Things often tend to recall the “Orwellian” dystopia, where a “Big Brother”⁶⁷ is watching over us all⁶⁸. There is a large threat of your “things” starting to “tell on you” to the proper owners and authorities, due to either illegal data, improper hardware or odd activities. The use of direct advertising, aimed at a personalized consumer product may be also viewed in the manner of privacy. There is also a question of loyalty. The user can do anything with machines he or she has purchased, they’ll still report to their masters, the producers.

This might also be the matter with cyborgs in current wireless tendencies. As I’ve mentioned in my last work concerning Hiveminds⁶⁹, one of the transhuman tendencies is to intertwine multiple entities, cyberneticaly interconnecting them like plants⁷⁰, wearable⁷¹ computing devices⁷²⁷³⁷⁴ and brain computer interfaces, direct or indirect⁷⁵. One could be viewed then as a dispersed entity, for one will be connected with the surrounding machinery, including vehicles⁷⁶⁷⁷⁷⁸, and the machinery will ask and answer one's questions. This might also bring us closer to the creation of a semi hive mind, where our wearables or implants communicate with those of others, exchange data and helping to communicate. Currently such GMS network is established in the Silicon Valley⁷⁹

This would also have combat applications as well, in drone squadrons⁸⁰ (Collaborative Operations in Denied Environments – CODE)⁸¹ where several units can coordinate their attacks⁸² and evasive moves using data gathered from their “teammates”, same with ground unit⁸³s, however this steps a little bit into the “lethal autonomy issue”.

The question of lethal autonomy is an ongoing topic⁸⁴, concerning the military⁸⁵, philosophers⁸⁶, software architects, lawyers, human⁸⁷ and AI rights activists. Would a semi-aware ad hoc network of machines, be allowed to neutralize, maim or even kill a person or destroy property if the primary user or the owner is in any kind of life threatening danger? This would only require one skillful hacker in order to make a murder look like an accident⁸⁸⁸⁹. On the other hand there can be safety measures imprinted into each and every device where in the case of emergency, the central AI⁹⁰ or an executive system could shut them down on sight, or take control of them and use as a weapon for offence or defense. One Smartphone would be just like one insect in a swarm, where if a threat appears, which would endanger the colony, all can sacrifice their lives in order to fend of the attackers. Would it also involve human users as its’ agents?

Going back to the Industrial Internet⁹¹, one of the most astounding application, besides supervising cities and whole countries, would be to connect it with the InterPlaNet⁹², the interplanetary version of the internet with a proper protocol established in order to create a “delay tolerant space internet”, like the one that has been currently established by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory on the moon⁹³. The main use one can see is in the off-world mining industry which includes mining the moon, asteroids and other celestial bodies. Despite the fact that many transhumanists are still strongly rejecting the idea of mining the outer space for resources, as this could look like “Cold War” ventures or greedy some oligarch’s dreams⁹⁴, one cannot create a post-scarcity economy without proper resources⁹⁵.

This is where survey probes, moles⁹⁶, hauling crafts/tug-ships and refining platforms comes in. With terrestrial mining operations being slowly yet successfully automated⁹⁷, the off-world mining of Near Earth Asteroids⁹⁸ could be seen as automated⁹⁹ and remotely controlled¹⁰⁰ from the start up¹⁰¹. Even today we have robotic freighters¹⁰², and freight space ships¹⁰³. Combining this with current mining automation solutions would give a self sufficient cornucopia of resources. Further more space exploration and colonizing other planets would also require autonomous crafts and robots¹⁰⁴, carrying out construction, maintenance, survey and exploration tasks, as well as remote satellites for tracking solar anomalies or asteroid impact threats.

Using automated harvesters¹⁰⁵ and agricultural drones¹⁰⁶, and setting an IoT based system would radically improve the agricultural industry’s output¹⁰⁷. An alternative would be the rise of indoor farming¹⁰⁸ or nutrition manufacturing¹⁰⁹.

For a transhumanist, this could be a bit difficult to handle, as the Industrial Internet would require large scale fast lanes¹¹⁰, this would severally impair the “non industrial” users being treated as second class entities. On the other hand however, should progress and sustainability be sacrificed by a greedy need for high speed internet connections?

Or do we even need the internet? Do machines need an internet structure in order to cooperate like a swarm¹¹¹?

There have been many approaches to the question “is the internet the only solution, or the best we can ever get?”.

Looking at network topologies¹¹², the one currently being adapted into a “internet alternative” is the MeshNet¹¹³. The main idea is the mesh consisting of several nodes which is somewhat similar to the modern wireless IoT models, called the “ad hoc networks”¹¹⁴. Those consist of devices creating a “task dedicated” network, but no “hardwired connections” whatsoever.

The internet of things would eventually become a internet of beings, humans¹¹⁵, machines, cyborgs¹¹⁶ and transgenic or “chimerical”, cooperating as a one organism¹¹⁷, one system of interconnected units. Would we also implement supervising AIs¹¹⁸ or mind uploaded entities, or will the AGI emerge¹¹⁹ from the swarm of semi-intelligent machines¹²⁰? We can’t really know for sure, will it be sentient¹²¹, sapient, or just intelligent¹²² and purposeful as a starfish¹²³ or a jellyfish¹²⁴. Would it be self aware or just basically responding to stimuli? Or if it ought to emerge from “Von Neumann” robots¹²⁵ or cyborgs¹²⁶ working in the outer space, would we still be referring to it as a “terrestrial intelligence”¹²⁷?

Summing up, the internet of things, whether it’s being a part of the “fast lanes¹²⁸” project, or not, will benefit mankind as well as trans and post humanity. The main idea of intelligently connecting our surrounding world might resemble, panvirism¹²⁹ or pantheism¹³⁰ becoming reality via technology. Although such technologies tend to create risks of bringing ultimate disasters to mankind, our hominid ancestors probably burnt their fingers several times with fire before mastering the art of creating and preserving it.

Image: http://www.thisiscolossal.com/tags/surreal/page/2/