BEHOLD: THE FRANKENSTEIN OF OUR DAY

by ANONYMOUS PATRIOTS
Aim4Truth.org

Human’s obsession to create machines that are not only labor-slaves but also automatons made in the likeness of the human being has been around for a very long time, even before Faust’s Homunculus or Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Since the beginning of recorded history, cultures have prided themselves in their clever inventions of machines that strike awe and wonder in the beholder. Ancient temples and royal palaces and cities displayed their machines as a sign of power and wisdom.

One of the earliest machine inventions was the temple-coin machine that poured water into the hands of the believer from some unknown and mystery process once a coin was inserted in a slot. For the uninitiated, these devices appeared to be delivering the works of the gods. This amazing device demonstrated to the naïve user that higher forces and beings were inspiring the priests and priestesses of the temple. The worshiper felt that the authority of a higher being was present and deserved his money and worship.

18th Century Replica of an Al-Jazari Automaton Playing Chess

As history progressed so did these devices and the attempt to make them appear more human. The king (or queen) might have his mechanical animals and automatons around his throne to demonstrate divine inspiration and superior wisdom. The king could be seen as a creator god in the physical world where he could create an image of something that was human-like. The phenomena of computers, artificial intelligence, smart devices, and robots didn’t just happen overnight. Humans have been trying to be god-creators since the first temple coins were used to invoke the temple gods.

Modern digital, electronic technologies should strike awe and wonder into the user but they don’t. We lost the marvel of holding such a powerful device in our hands a few decades ago and they are now an accepted and unquestioned appendage of everything we do.

We accept digital innovation as good and rarely question its dark side. This unconsciousness has led humans to be a thankless and ungrateful recipient of marvelous new technologies that are not understand by most users. Like the naïve peasant who was in awe of the hidden hydraulic processes that operated the temple coin machine, the modern technology user stands unaware of the incomprehensible wonders of the electromagnetic world and the machine-world of the internet through modern computing.

The modern computer user unconsciously benefits from the entire evolution of machines, including the long history of machines that calculate and the millions of hours of computer programming that have gone into the machine-language source codes that runs the internet. Few people understand the first thing about the wondrous machines that have come to rule their lives, just as the peasant couldn’t understand the magnificent temple he entered or the miraculous machines that he encountered.

In the Anonymous Patriot’s other writings and audios, we discuss the pervasive and seemingly all-powerful forces of the machine world that are taking over the human world. Many people believe that a global “artificial intelligence” will soon take over the world with quantum-computer intelligence that is billions of times greater than human intelligence. Some call this artificial intelligence God, and they are anxious to worship it. Some people speak of a human who will be a cyborg that can directly link into the world-wide web through transhuman wet-works that merge machine networks with human neural networks.

MACHINE INTELLIGENCE WANTS WORSHIPERS

Once we understand the good and bad of the mysterious and alluring machines, we will realize that there is a war raging against the human being to turn thinking into machine intelligence, which is the opposite of human thinking. They call this machine language of programs and subroutines, AI or artificial intelligence. It is artificial and is alien to human intelligence.  No AI will ever be able to accomplish what the human body, soul, and spirit accomplish through living thinking. Machine language is binary and exists in a cold, dark realm where humans may not enter without death. Just stick your finger into your computer while it is plugged into the wall-plug and see what the electromagnetic realm is like. You will be shocked to death trying to enter the machine realm.

Scientists are great at making devices and working with forces, but they know little to nothing about the beings behind those forces. That is what the priests and priestesses in the temple were conveying to the peasant. The supplicant needed to have respect for the accumulated human wisdom that built the temple (hardware) and marvel at the inventiveness of the priests (software) to create an alluring, captivating, and wondrous machine whose device evoked a religious desire to merge with the godly wonder demonstrated by the machine. The machine demonstrated, at least as far as the peasant could understand, that the priest was directly connected to the gods.

Thus, the peasant brought their hard-earned grains, fruits, and gifts to the temple to trade for coins that made the machines run and prove that there was a god working through the magical forces of the machine. The same type of offering in our time might be characterized as bringing our hard-earned money to the temple of Apple to buy one of their alluring devices from the “great god” Steve Jobs in anticipation that the digital artificial intelligence god might show himself (herself) through our loving devotion and worship of all things digital, innovative, and scientific.

The biggest problem with the comparison between the peasant and the computer user is that the peasant was not being made ill by interacting with the machine. Many of the same effects happen to both the peasant and the modern computer user, but the modern computer user does not know the true nature of the machine and the harmful side-effects that come from continuous exposure to the poisonous effects of the devices and the soul and spiritual effects that arise through fascination and addiction to the wondrous marvels of the miraculous machine.

In both cases, those with the true knowledge of the workings of the machine know that it is not magic nor divine. In the modern case, these miraculous machines were created as weapons that have come into the hands of unsuspecting common people who don’t really know what these devices really are and the danger lurking behind their technology. In both cases, ancient and modern-day, the user was tricked and charged money to be fooled into believing that the makers or technicians were in direct contact with the higher forces and beings.

The habit of uncontrolled and unfettered worship of innovation for innovation sake has led us to the brink where science lacks morality and simply works to serve commercial, corporate, and materialistic ends. Consideration for machines seems to be more important now than human health and welfare. Robots can now marry and become citizens and speak of a goal of having offspring. Atlas, the robot warrior, has already been created and is deployed in significant numbers. But who really knows how many robot warriors are being made right now?

The mythology of science tries to sell us on innovation with flashy campaigns, big dreams, and anthropomorphized machines but seldom ever considers the ultimate consequences of these new inventions and innovations. Has anyway asked the question, “Who will control the Internet of Things that can manipulate every digital aspect of your life from your phone?”

OR, AN EVEN MORE OBVIOUS QUESTION THAT IS COMPLETELY OVERLOOKED, “WHY DO WE NEED SUCH TECHNOLOGY?”

One might think that no one is controlling innovation – that it just happens through the patent office and then we get new, cool devices. This fantastical notion is anything but true.

The Department of Defense, National Security Agency, CIA, FBI, and numerous other agencies screen all patents to see if they might be able to be made into a weapon. If an invention is weaponizable, it is confiscated for “national security” purposes and the inventor receives no compensation. Then, the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DoD) and In-Q-Tel (CIA) through the Highlands Forum shares the patent with innovators until the first one to successfully make the device, wins the contest. Next, venture capitalists swoop in and support the “new company”, using insider information to buy up all its competition, until a new Silicon Valley company becomes the latest Wall Street unicorn.

This is how the Internet (originally named DARPANET), Intel, Sisco, Facebook and many other fake-tech companies came into existence:

Steal or compromise the patent

Develop using taxpayer fund

Insiders and venture capitalists get first dibs

Company goes public

Insiders and fake inventors sell their stock

Innovation is reinforced by slick marketing campaigns that promote the technology as making our lives “better, faster, more convenient, economical, leisure producing, entertaining, fulfilling, and empowering.” Who is even paying attention to whether these innovations will eventually enslave or harm us; we just need more power and speed to get to where we are going. The consumer did not even ask for the new “weaponized” invention. Even Steve Jobs is reported to have said that customers don’t know what they want.

No one did a longitudinal study on computers, cell phones, wireless, and the majority of our new toys because they only came into use in the few decades. The current scientific studies on digital devises are about as honest as studies on GMOs and vaccines. Do you trust the FDA, CDC, FTC, DOD, CIA, FBI, NSA, or any other governmental agency inform you of the truth about whether a weaponized invention is safe?

Now it is time to take a deep dive into this tech landscape with this Anonymous Patriots Citizen’s Intelligence Report. If you understand what is being present in this article, you may want to make changes in your life to protect yourself from the false allure of machines and the addictions and illnesses they cause. Be brave and face the machine. Be its master, instead of having the technology become your digital prison.

NEW MENTAL ILLNESSES CA– USED BY INTERNET — USE

The internet may be slowly driving you to the brink of insanity. As the internet evolved into a ubiquitous part of our lives, we’ve witnessed a rise in the number of distinct mental disorders directly tied to our use of digital technology. These afflictions, which range from benign to destructive, weren’t recognized by the medical community until very recently.

Internet Addiction Disorder – A constant and unhealthy urge to access the internet. There are often other disorders associated with this condition, including: depression, OCD, ADD, and social anxiety. Internet addiction can usually be attributed to things like poor coping skills, low self-esteem, and low self-efficacy.

Nomophobia -The anxiety that arises from not having access to one’s mobile device. The term “Nomophobia” is an abbreviation of “no-mobile phobia.”

Cybersickness – The disorientation and dizziness some people feel when interacting with certain digital environments. This dizziness and nausea resulting from a virtual environment has been dubbed cybersickness. It’s basically our brains getting tricked into motion.

Facebook Depression – Depression caused by social interactions, or lack thereof, on Facebook. A University of Michigan study shows that depression among young people directly corresponds to the amount of time they spend on Facebook.

Online Gaming Addiction – An unhealthy need to access online multiplayer games. About ten percent of the population between the ages of 9 and 39 suffer from either internet or online gaming addiction. The Center for Internet Addiction’s Online Gaming program and On-Line Gamers Anonymous has fashioned its own 12-step recovery program. When you are addicted to something your brain is telling you that it needs certain neurotransmitters—particularly dopamine and serotonin—to feel good. That need for those neurotransmitters drives your behavior. It makes you want to do it again and again.

Cyberchondria – The tendency to believe you have diseases you read about online. A 2008 Microsoft study found that search-engine-aided self-diagnosis typically led the afflicted searcher to conclude the worst possible outcome.

The Google Effect – The tendency of the human mind to retain less information because it knows that all answers are only a few clicks away. “The Google Effect,” research has shown, that the limitless access to information has caused our brains to retain less information.

Phantom Ringing Syndrome -When your brain tricks you into thinking your phone is buzzing in your pocket.

Cybersexual Addiction – Compulsive use of adult websites for cybersex and cyberporn.

Cyber-relationship Addiction – Over-involvement in online relationships.

Net Compulsions – Obsessive online gambling, shopping, day-trading, etc.

Information Overload – Compulsive web surfing or database searches. 

ADDICTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE FACEBOOK

Internet addiction causes neurological complications, psychological disturbances and social problems. The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale has been developed to measure addiction to Facebook. Excessive Facebook use correlated with elements of addiction as well as neuroticism. Nearly 10% of users display disordered social networking use. Excessive Facebook use can be detrimental to both a person’s health and their social relationships.

Individuals who delay or disrupt their sleep to engage with others on Facebook may not get the rest they need. The time spent social networking can detract from other social relationships or responsibilities. Couples, families, households and even workplace relationships can suffer when a person is excessively on Facebook. 

SOCIAL MEDIA ILLNESS

Many new studies emphasize the potentially negative consequences of social media sites like Facebook. They document the common incidence of anxiety, depression, ADHD, eating disorders and addictions among users. Some of the major findings include:

• Depression
• Cyberbullying increases risk of depression and anxiety in children.
• Facebook can cause depression if the user makes negative comparisons between himself or herself and others.
• Facebook use “predicts declines in subjective well-being: how people feel moment to moment and how satisfied they are with their lives.”
• Facebook can cause envy, which can lead to depression.
• ADHD – Social media can increase symptoms of ADHD.
• Eating Disorders
• Body exposure on Facebook can lead to eating disorders.

INTERNET ADDICTION DISORDER 

About 25% of users fulfill internet addiction criteria within the first six months of using the internet. Many individuals initially report feeling intimidated by the computer but gradually feel a sense of competency and exhilaration from mastering the technology and learning to navigate the applications quickly by visual stimulation.

According to a study by Kathy Scherer, a psychologist from the University of Texas at Austin, “13% of college internet users fit the criteria for internet addicts.” She discovered that “72% of the internet addicted students were men.”

Public concern, interest in, and the study of, internet over-use can be attributed to the fact that it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish between the online and offline worlds. The internet has tremendous potential to affect the emotions of humans and in turn, alter our self-perception and anxiety levels.

According to Maressa Orzack, director of the Computer Addiction Study at Harvard University’s McLean Hospital, between 5% and 10% of Web surfers suffer some form of Web dependency.

According to the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery, “Internet addicts suffer from emotional problems such as depression and anxiety-related disorders and often use the fantasy world of the Internet to psychologically escape unpleasant feelings or stressful situations.”

Scientists have found that compulsive internet use can produce morphological changes in the structure of the brain. A study which analyzed Chinese college students who had been classified as computer addicts by the study designers and who used a computer around 10 hours a day, 6 days a week, found reductions in the sizes of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, supplementary motor area and parts of the cerebellum compared to students deemed “not addicted” by the designers. It has been theorized that these changes reflect learning-type cognitive optimizations for using computers more efficiently, but also impaired short-term memory and decision-making abilities—including ones in which may contribute to the desire to stay online instead of be in the real world.

Patricia Wallace PhD, Senior Director, Information Technology and CTY Online, at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth argues that based on the case histories that have surfaced, no one denies that excessive involvement with certain psychological spaces on the net can have serious effects on a person’s life. She explains that, at a large university in New York, the dropout rate among freshmen newcomers rose dramatically as their investment in computers and Internet access increased, and the administrators learned that 43% of the dropouts were staying up all night on the internet.

Here are more addictions that have been identified:

Online Gambling Addiction – According to David Hodgins, a professor of psychology at the University of Calgary, online gambling is considered to be as serious as pathological gambling. It is known as an “isolated disorder” which means that those who have a gambling problems prefer to separate themselves from interruptions and distractions. Because gambling is available online, it increases the opportunity for problem gamblers to indulge in gambling without social influences swaying their decisions.

Online Gaming Addiction – Video game addiction is a known issue around the world. Incidence and severity grew in the 2000s, with the advent of broadband technology, games allowing for the creation of avatars, ‘second life’ games, and MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role playing games). Online gaming addiction may be considered in terms of B.F. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, which claims that the frequency of a given behavior is directly linked to rewarding and punishment of that behavior. If a behavior is rewarded, it is more likely to be repeated.

Communication Addiction Disorder (compulsive talking) – Communication addiction disorder (CAD) is a behavioral disorder related to the necessity of being in constant communication with other people, even when there is no practical necessity for such communication. CAD had been linked to internet addiction. Users become addicted to the social elements of the Internet, such as Facebook and YouTube.

Virtual Reality Addiction – Virtual reality addiction is an addiction to the use of virtual reality or virtual, immersive environments. Currently, interactive virtual media (such as social networks) are referred to as virtual reality, whereas future virtual reality refers to computer-simulated, immersive environments or worlds. Experts warn about the dangers of virtual reality, and compare the use of virtual reality to the use of drugs.

Negative Effects on Traditional Reading – Using the internet can lead to lower attention span and make it more difficult to read in the traditional sense. Researchers from the University College London have done a five-year study on Internet habits, and have found that people using the sites exhibited “a form of skimming activity,” hopping from one source to another and rarely returning to any source they’d already visited. The 2008 report says, “It is clear that users are not reading online in the traditional sense; indeed there are signs that new forms of reading are emerging as users “power browse” horizontally through titles, contents pages and abstracts going for quick wins. It almost seems that they go online to avoid reading in the traditional sense.”

Reduced Attention Span – According to the New York Times, many scientists say that “people’s ability to focus is being undermined by bursts of information.” From 53,573 page views taken from various users, 17% of the views lasted less than 4 seconds while 4% lasted more than 10 minutes.

Negative Effects of Anonymity – Interacting on the internet mostly does not involve “physical” interactions with another person and therefore easily leads to a person feeling free to act differently online, as well as unrestraint in civility and minimization of authority, etc. The phenomenon is a likely cause for the prevalence of cyberbullying, especially for children who do not understand “social networking etiquette.” Internet anonymity can lead to online disinhibition, in which people do and say things online that they normally wouldn’t do or say in person using rude language, harsh criticisms, anger, hatred and threats or visit pornographic or violent sites that they wouldn’t in the ‘real world.’

Escapism – Ease of access to the internet can increase escapism in which a user uses the internet as an “escape” from the perceived unpleasant or banal aspects of daily/real life. Because the internet and virtual realities easily satisfy social needs and drives, according to Jim Blascovich and Jeremy Bailensen, “sometimes they are so satisfying that addicted users will withdraw physically from society.” 

EFFECTS OF DIGITAL TECH ON HUMANS 

A study conducted recently by the Center on Media and Child Health and the University of Alberta found that 67% of the over 2,300 teachers surveyed observed that the number of students who are negatively distracted by digital technologies in the classroom is growing and 75% say students’ ability to focus on educational tasks has decreased. In the past 3 to 5 years since personal technologies have entered the classroom, 90% stated that the number of students with emotional challenges has increased 86%.

The research shows that U.S. teenagers who spend 3 hours a day or more on electronic devices are 35% more likely, and those who spend 5 hours or more are 71% more likely, to have a risk factor for suicide than those who spend less than 1 hour.

This research also shows that 8th graders who are heavy users of social media have a 27% higher risk of depression, while those who exceed the average time spent playing sports, hanging out with friends in person, or doing homework have a significantly lower risk. Experiencing depression as a teenager significantly increases the risk of becoming depressed again later in life.

Also, teens who spend 5 or more hours a day (versus less than 1) on electronic devices are 51% more likely to get less than 7 hours of sleep (versus the recommended 9).  Sleep deprivation is linked to long-term issues like weight gain and high blood pressure.

According to an American Psychological Association (APA) survey of over 3,500 U.S. parents, 58% say they worry about the influence of social media on their child’s physical and mental health, 48% say that regulating their child’s screen time is a “constant battle,” and 58% say they feel like their child is “attached” to their phone or tablet. 

SOCIAL MEDIA AND SUICIDE

Social media and suicide is a relatively new phenomenon and there is increasing evidence that this behavior of using social media affects and changes people’s lives, especially in teenagers. Suicide has been identified not only as an individual phenomenon, but it is influenced by social and environmental factors. More than 30,000 suicide deaths in the United States and nearly one million suicide deaths worldwide occur every year.

One explanation that has arisen, is the cause and effect relationship between social media advertised suicides and younger generations being influenced by them and wanting their “15 minutes of fame.” The media tends to popularize videos and social media posts to inform the public of the rising trouble and exacerbates the problem. Social media also provides higher risks with the promotion of different kinds of pro-suicidal sites, message boards, chat rooms and forums which have led to suicide pacts.

Contributors to social media platforms may also exert peer pressure to commit suicide, idolize those who have completed suicide, and facilitate suicide pacts. For example, on a Japanese message board in 2008 it was shared that a person can kill himself/herself using hydrogen sulfide gas. Shortly after, 220 people attempted suicide in this way, and 208 were successful.

Cyberbullicide – Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth between the ages of 10 and 24. Cyberbullicide is the term used to define suicide due to having indirect or direct experiences with online aggression. Cyberbullying and cyber harassment are two prevalent ways to lead to pro-suicide behavior. Bullies use social media to harass victims, often without consequence. Cyberbullying usually occurs in the form of rumors, embarrassment, gossip, exclusion and attacks on the reputation and relationships of individuals. As a result, the victims may develop problems with their mental health.

Sexual Predators – Sex offenders may access these sites and, using the personal information displayed, attempt to gain the trust of the user, making them vulnerable to online attacks, seduction, or sexual grooming. The offenders may then lure the users into a face to face meeting. where they may be molested or sexually assaulted.

Media Contagion Effect –Suicide contagion can be viewed within the larger context of behavioral contagion, which has been described as a situation in which the same behavior spreads quickly and spontaneously through a group. Persons most susceptible to suicide contagions are those under 25 years of age.  In particular, interactions via chat rooms or discussion forums may foster peer pressure to die by suicide, encourage users to idolize those who have completed suicide, or facilitate suicide pacts. Recently there has been a trend in creating memorial social media pages in honor of a deceased person. In New Zealand, a memorial page was made after a person committed suicide, this resulted in the suicide of 8 other persons, which further shows the power of the media contagion effect.

To read more about Social Media deaths:

The Absolute Craziest Deaths Caused By Social Media

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SMART PHONES AND HUMAN HEALTH 

A smart phone is a powerful tool that can make us feel omniscience through search engines, GPS, and vocal queries. We are omnipresent through social media and omnipotent through the Internet of Things. On one hand, the cell phone has become the greatest information tool ever invented, yet a powerful weapon of individual and social destruction depending on who is using it.

Smart phones were original deemed “weapons” in school. Now, teachers expect every student to have a cell phone to do class work online. About 75% of ALL Americans have cell phones and they are an integral part of modern life. To prove just how attached a young person is to her phone, just take it away from her and watch the nuclear-digital meltdown. The smart phone is a miniaturized weapon that works against, not for, the user.

Here are some of the many illnesses and disorders that can affect all aspects of the life of the smart phone user.

Cancer – As reported by the World Health Organization, cell phones emit electromagnetic radiofrequency fields (RF) that are one thousand times greater than what is emitted from base stations. It’s obvious that this increased emission is likely to have some adverse effect on health of users. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified RF as a possible carcinogen in humans.

Sleep Disorders – Several studies have concluded that high mobile phone use was associated with sleep disorders. Major contributing factors to interrupted sleep patterns are getting awakened in the middle of the night due to mobile rings and vibration and increased use of cell phones late into the night.

Increased Accident-risk – Be it while driving or while crossing the road, mobile phone can be a potential distraction. According to the World Health Organization, research shows an increased risk of traffic accidents with mobile usage that is 3-4 times greater than average.

Heart Problems – Radiation from smart phones is not only associated with cancer but also with chronic diseases like heart problems. According to a study published in European Journal of Oncology, radiations emitted by cordless phones, including mobiles, contribute to abnormalities in heart function. Results reported that radiation causes the red blood cells (RBCs) to seep hemoglobin and lead to heart complications.

Infertility – Your phone can make you infertile. There is evidence which shows that mobile phone radiation decreases sperm count. Research revealed that the study group of men who used mobile phones had a decreased sperm cell count in their semen, leading to infertility.

Hearing Impairment – Studies report that long-term exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from cell phones contributes to reducing hearing function. Research showed that people who talked on cell phones for approximately two hours every day were at a higher risk of impaired hearing compared to those who moderate users (10-20 mins).

Eye Problems – A lot of people use their mobiles to read e-books and do web-surfing apart from texting. When you do so, the glaring screen and small font size put strain on your eyes, especially if you’re reading in the dark. Mobile devices have a smaller screen so you tend to squint or open up your eyes wide open and blink less. This can cause eyes to dry and irritated.

Skin Allergies – Smart phones contain potential skin allergens like nickel, chromium and cobalt which cause smart phone dermatitis. A study by Marcella Aquino tested 72 cell phones for the presence of nickel and cobalt. According to the results, about 29.4 per cent of Blackberry models were tested positive for nickel, 90.5 per cent of flip phones were positive for nickel and about 52 per cent of flip phones had cobalt.

Infections – Smart phones carry millions of infectious organisms. A study found that mobile devices are highly contaminated with organisms from fecal origin. They are a niche for several germs like Ecoli (known to cause vomiting and diarrhea) and Staphyloccocus aureus (known to cause skin infections).

Stress – The desperate nature of people to be available 24/7 on their mobiles is responsible for exponentially increasing stress levels.

To read further about the risks of smart phone use see:

Health risks associated with mobile phones use 

Don’t keep cell phones next to your body, California Health Department warns 

‘Smartphone Blindness,’ And Other Health Hazards Of Our Favorite Gadgets

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NOMOPHOBIA IS SMART PHONE ADDICTION

A staggering amount of people, especially teens, are addicted to smart phones. This increased usage of smart phones has led to a lot of physical and psychological effects that are harmful for the well-being of these individuals. This issue is so serious that a word has been invented just for it: Nomophobia. This term is given to phone addicts that completely lose their mind when they are away from their phones.
The smart phone was invented to keep us connected to the world, our friends, and family. However, its over-use has become a major reason of keeping us disconnected from our real relations. This misuse of technology has severe consequences, among which the most prominent symptoms are given below.

Increased Levels of Stress – People that compulsively check their phones every minute are extremely addicted to it. Their mind and body constantly remains under stress due to their habit of checking their phones after short intervals.

Insomnia – Constantly checking your phone and keeping it next to your pillow is doing more damage than you ever imagined. Letting your phone usage invade your sleep is one of the worst thing you are doing to your mind and body. This over-use of technology may lead to stress, less productivity, lower energy levels, difficulty concentrating, and lower brain activity. When we make use of phones at night, melatonin mistakes the artificial light for daytime. As a result, we find it hard to sleep which causes various sleeping disorders including insomnia.

Anxiety – The anxiousness that comes by hearing a small ping causes severe anxiety. The constant urge of checking the phone and finding no message on it results in stress. People using smartphones feel socially obligated to stay connected to social networks, which keeps them hooked to the device, giving them no time to relax.

Depression – People that are addicted to their phones find it hard to stay away from them. Such people then feel strong withdrawal symptoms when they cannot have their phones including severe depression.

Aggressiveness – The people that constantly use their phones are unable to look away from them. In some cases, the addiction is so bad that people feel angry when their phone is taken away from them. A great number of teens do not let anyone touch their phones. When they lose their phones, they show signs of aggression which results in mood swings, feelings of unhappiness, and irritation.

Delinquency – Addiction to smart phones can make a person careless and cause several behavioral issues. Many people are so addicted to their phones that they can’t keep it away while driving, eating, studying, talking to someone, etc. which leads to many other problems with authorities.

Compulsive Behavior –  An inability to stop using the smart phone despite knowing you will be faced with negative consequences. Children and teens that cover a greater percentage of phone addicts often fail to understand the consequences that this over-use of technology may have on their lives.

Difficulties in Relating with Others – Addiction to smart phones often cause relationships and friendships to end. As a result, people around the cell phone addict feel upset. For example, using a smartphone while on a date with your significant other might make them infuriated. By using our phones, we disconnect ourselves from the real world, which is a huge problem that causes relationship problems.

Craving More Phone-time – Phone addicts usually can’t have enough of their phones, which is why they can’t put it away for even a second. At night, many phone users keep themselves forcefully awake to use their phones to chat, socialize, watch videos, and play games.

Neglecting Family and Friends –While attending an event or social gathering, cell phone addicts are engrossed in their phones instead of conversing with the people around them. Adolescents are most affected by phones and parents complain about their excessive use and often confiscate them as a form of punishment. Smart phone addiction can cause fights, arguments, and even loss of relationships.

Changes in Sleep Patterns – Phone usage at nighttime has been linked to disturbed sleeping patterns by several medical experts and researchers. Smart phone addicts generally sleep less than seven hours per night, which causes several health risks including diabetes, heart problems, depression, inability to concentrate, poor memory, inactive mind, and learning problems.

Shunning Healthy Activities – Smart phone addicts often fail to take part in healthy activities like walking, socializing, sports, etc. Socialization suffers greatly. Children prefer playing video instead of going out in a natural setting with friends. They choose virtual games rather than actual games with actual people.

Smart phone technology was created to serve us in a positive way, to connect us to the world, and to help us explore. However, this technology has been put to the wrong uses and many of us are getting addicted to it.

Do you see your behaviors and/or illnesses in the smart phone addiction list above?

There are real dangers to smart phone addiction including prominent physical and mental disorders. It is important to manage your smart phone use and avoid exploiting the technology and allowing the technology to exploit you.

Here are some simple things you can do immediately to lessen the effects of the machine world on your personal human world. Remember, machines at this point in evolution, are not our friends; they are our slaves. And if we are not careful, we will become their slaves.

Recommendations for Smart Phone Use

• Keep the phone away from the body whenever possible. Carry it in a purse or briefcase instead of touching your body
• Reduce cell phone use when the signal is weak or when you’re in a fast-moving car or bus because phones put off more radio frequency energy at those times
• Reduce the use of cell phones streaming audio or video
• Keep the phone seven feet away from your body at night
• Use headsets or speaker mode to avoid holding the phone to your head

 

HUMAN OBSESSION WITH AUTOMATONS

Why are we so willing to jump into the virtual realm and give ourselves, our time, our money, and our life over to the novel, the mysterious, the magical effects of the digital world of machines and technology?

We have already pointed out that the use of machines is as ancient as those made to accept temple coinage. Machine technology continued throughout history with man’s desire to make an automaton that to do his bidding, a form of master-slave relationships where the slave is a machine. That trend continues today and is even more pronounced as robots are being used for work that was once left to low-paid workers and slaves. An overview of history reminds us that strides towards automation has deep roots.

In the mid-8th century, wind-powered automata were built which were human-like statues that turned with the wind overlooking the city of Baghdad. The Abbasid palaces had automata of various types and were predominantly displayed. Jābir ibn Hayyān (Geber) included recipes for constructing artificial snakes, scorpions, and humans that would be subject to their creator’s control in his coded Book of Stones. In 827, Caliph Al-Ma’mun had a silver and golden tree in his palace in Baghdad, with metal birds that sang and flapped their wings. In the 9th century, the Banū Mūsā brothers invented a programmable automatic flute player which they described in their Book of Ingenious Devices.

Al-Jazari described complex programmable humanoid automata amongst other machines he designed and constructed in the Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices in 1206. His automaton was a boat with four automatic musicians that floated on a lake to entertain guests at royal drinking parties. His mechanism had a programmable drum machine with pegs (cams) that bump into little levers that operate the percussion. The drummer could be made to play different rhythms and drum patterns if the pegs were moved around. The automata were a robot band which performed more than fifty facial and body actions during each musical selection.

Al-Jazari constructed a hand washing automaton first employing the flush mechanism now used in modern toilets. It features a female automaton standing by a basin filled with water. When the user pulls the lever, the water drains and the automaton refills the basin. His “peacock fountain” was another more sophisticated hand washing device featuring humanoid automata as servants who offer soap and towels.

Samarangana Sutradhara, a Sanskrit treatise by Bhoja (11th century), includes a chapter about the construction of mechanical contrivances (automata), including mechanical bees and birds, fountains shaped like humans and animals, and male and female dolls that refilled oil lamps, danced, played instruments, and re-enacted scenes from Hindu mythology.

There are many examples of automata in Greek mythology: Hephaestus created automata for his workshop; Taloswas an artificial man of bronze. Daedalus used quicksilver to install voice in his moving statues. King Alkinous of the Phaiakians employed gold and silver watchdogs.

The automata in the Hellenistic world were intended as tools, toys, religious idols, or prototypes for demonstrating basic scientific principles. Numerous water powered automata were built by Ktesibios, a Greek inventor and the first head of the Great Library of Alexandria, for example he “used water to sound a whistle and make a model owl move. He had invented the world’s first cuckoo clock. This tradition continued in Alexandria with inventors such as the Greek mathematician Hero of Alexandria (sometimes known as Heron), whose writings on hydraulics, pneumatics, and mechanics described siphons, a fire engine, a water organ, the aeolipile, and a programmable cart.

 

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ATLAS ROBOTS: A DANGEROUS COMBO

In 2010, DeepMind Technologies Limited, a British artificial intelligence company was founded to create the first artificial intelligence. The company was acquired by Google in 2014. DeepMind created a neural network that learns how to play video games in a fashion similar to that of humans, as well as a Neural Turing machine, or a neural network, that may be able to access an external memory like a conventional Turing machine, resulting in a computer that mimics the short-term memory of the human brain. After Google’s acquisition, the company established an artificial intelligence ethics board. DeepMind, together with Amazon, Google, Facebook, IBM, and Microsoft, is a founding member of Partnership on AI, an organization devoted to the society-AI interface.

DeepMind Technologies’ goal is to “solve intelligence”, which they are trying to achieve by combining “the best techniques from machine learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose learning algorithms.” They are trying to formalize intelligence to not only implement it into machines, but also understand the human brain. DeepMind claims that their system is not pre-programmed: it learns from experience, using only raw pixels as data input. Technically it uses deep learning on a convolutional neural network, with a novel form of Q-learning, a form of model-free reinforcement learning. They test the system on video games. Without altering the code, the AI begins to understand how to play the game, and after some time plays, for a few games a more efficient game than any human ever could.

DeepMind is the foundation upon which will be built autonomous robots that can learn. Right now, only DeepMind is officially an “artificial intelligence.” Though you hear references to other AI frequently, those are simply series of sub-routines connecting through software. DeepMind on the other hand, is demonstrating self-generated machine intelligence that can grow on its own. Once DeepMind was loaded up with every bit of digital information that the team could find, the inventors asked DeepMind what it thought about human beings.

DEEPMIND RESPONDED, “KEEP HUMANS IN THE HUMAN ZOO.”

Remember, DeepMind is machine intelligence which is the opposite of human intelligence. DeepMind’s prime directive is to keep humans as animals in a zoo – a human zoo filled with machine intelligence taking over our lives. 

The next step in weaponized military innovation is an autonomous robot that will do the bidding of the programmer without the mess of human morality or human intelligence questioning the bidding of the bosses. Google (Alphabet) owns the company that won the DARPA contract to make the robot warriors. Of course, no one is asking the obvious question, “Isn’t this the time that the robot armies take over the world in every sci-fi movie about the future?” The answer to that proverbial question is: YES. Just keep watching the Tech Warlord Eric Schmidt and you will see him taking war into the robot warrior stage of human devolution.

The Atlas robot has frankly scared us since its inception. Watching the chain of ownership of this “invention” is like watching the rat-trails of Silicon Valley that always lead back to DARPA, In-Q-Tel, and the Highlands Forum. The warmongers and venture capitalists feed the innovations of Silicon Valley and the fake Tech Lords make out like bandits.

ERIC SCHMIDT MAY SOON CONTROL AN ARMY OF UNSTOPPABLE WARRIOR ROBOTS NAMED ATLAS.

Atlas is a bipedal humanoid robot primarily developed by the American robotics company Boston Dynamics (Alphabet), with funding and oversight from the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The six-foot tall robot is designed for a variety of search and rescue tasks, and was unveiled to the public on July 11, 2013. The design and production of Atlas was overseen by the DARPA, an agency of the United States Department of Defense, in cooperation with Boston Dynamics.

Atlas is based on Boston Dynamics’ earlier PETMAN humanoid robot, and has four  hydraulically-actuated limbs. Constructed of aluminum and titanium, it weighs 330 pounds, and is illuminated with blue LEDs. Atlas is equipped with two vision systems – a laser rangefinder and  stereo cameras, both controlled by an off-board computer – and has hands with fine motor skill capabilities. Atlas can navigate rough terrain and climb independently using its arms and legs. The robot can withstand being hit by projectiles and balance on one leg.

In 2014, Atlas robots programmed by six different teams competed in the DARPA Robotics Challenge to test the robot’s ability to perform various tasks, including getting in and out of a vehicle and driving it, opening a door, and using a power tool.

The new version of Atlas is designed to operate both outdoors and inside buildings. It is specialized for mobile manipulation and is very adept at walking over a wide range of terrain, including snow. It is electrically powered and hydraulically actuated. It uses sensors in its body and legs to balance, and it uses stereo sensors in its head to avoid obstacles, assess the terrain, help with navigation, and manipulate objects, even when the objects are being moved.

Atlas can also run, jump, and even turn 180 degrees while jumping and performing a backflip. In the 2015 DARPA competition of robotics Atlas completed all eight tasks as follows:

• Drive a utility vehicle at the site.
• Travel dismounted across rubble.
• Remove debris blocking an entryway.
• Open a door and enter a building.
• Climb an industrial ladder and traverse an industrial walkway.
• Use a tool to break through a concrete panel.
• Locate and close a valve near a leaking pipe.
• Connect a fire hose to a standpipe and turn on a valve.

Atlas is a step toward the long-anticipated age of humanoid robots. We are seeing the creation of a new species, Robo sapiens. The question is, “Have we birthed the human-like automaton, or our demise?” Only time will tell.

BRAVE NEW WORLD IS NOW

Atlas and the other innovations driven by the desire to weaponize patents are the harbingers of our machine-like future. Humans intelligence cannot keep up with technological innovation and there is no time scheduled to ask the important questions about the non-stop invasion into human life via machines. We have seen in this article that humans are not doing so well with machines and their inherent effects upon health and wellness. Soon, we may be welcoming Atlas and his mechanical offspring into our homes, our jobs, and the political machinations of war.

We are in a war with machines and it looks like we are losing. People will not put down their smart phones and computers to ask basic questions about what costs are associated with all of this “sucked-up” time and energy spent on the Internet and computers. Even if the dangers and illnesses caused by tech-addiction are screamed from every roof-top, we wonder if people will take out their ear-buds, put down their phones and listen. Perhaps we should develop an app for the smart phone that might be able to get the WARNING through the unconscious user.

The time is coming when humans must decide between human thinking and machine intelligence. No machine will ever be able to understand a wisdom-filled human thought. No human will ever be able to live in the realm of machine intelligence. These two realms are diametrically opposed to each other and will never meet without serious consequences.

HUMAN THOUGHTS ARE BASED UPON LIFE, WHEREAS MACHINE INTELLIGENCE IS BASED UPON DEATH.

Machines live and work in a realm that humans may not enter accept through the sacrifice of our own warmth, intelligence, and life. Hard, cold machines are the creation of human thinking attempting to make a machine in the likeness of the human being. So far, we have failed to understand the nature of human and machine intelligence and mistakenly attribute similarities that do not exist. Have we created a digital liberator or a machine Frankenstein?

Humans and machines must learn to work together in a healthy and interconnected fashion that brings the best of humanity into a realm devoid of warmth and life. Once consciousness brings to light to the true effects of machines on the human being, we can build a foundation upon which a rich and rewarding conversation can begin that brings the right balance between human thought and machine intelligence that promotes healthy human development and morally centered technology.

 

VIDEO SERIES

We are putting together audio selections of lectures and discussions on this topic and will be adding them as we record and post. Check back to see our most recent additions.

Beyond Transhumanism

Technology Addiction and Illnesses

Human Spirit and Machines

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http://aim4truth.org/2018/01/11/behold-the-frankenstein-of-our-day/