Is humanity being mind controlled by the Internet?

Something occurred to me when I was reading the following:

Google’s 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List

If the majority of content providers on the Internet are writing their content specifically to appeal to computer algorithms, what are the implications of that for human thought?

Does the above mean that "Skynet" from the Terminator films has arrived in a sense? If most Internet content providers are designing their content specifically for a computer algorithm then who is in control ultimately? Are those writing the content in control or is the computer algorithm in control? If the computer algorithm is in control then "Skynet" has arrived in a small way IMHO. The idea of "Skynet" is that a computer program takes control of humanity. Well, if Internet content being written by humans is actually being dictated by a computer algorithm then I think we need to accept that "Skynet" is here.

If we're constantly reading things and hearing things that are designed for a computer algorithm, how would that affect us? Will humans become more robotic and machine-like in their thinking and actions because of the above? I think so.

originally posted by: Profusion
Something occurred to me when I was reading the following:

Google’s 200 Ranking Factors: The Complete List

If the majority of content providers on the Internet are writing their content specifically to appeal to computer algorithms, what are the implications of that for human thought?

Does the above mean that "Skynet" from the Terminator films has arrived in a sense? If most Internet content providers are designing their content specifically for a computer algorithm then who is in control ultimately? Are those writing the content in control or is the computer algorithm in control? If the computer algorithm is in control then "Skynet" has arrived in a small way IMHO. The idea of "Skynet" is that a computer program takes control of humanity. Well, if Internet content being written by humans is actually being dictated by a computer algorithm then I think we need to accept that "Skynet" is here.

If we're constantly reading things and hearing things that are designed for a computer algorithm, how would that affect us? Will humans become more robotic and machine-like in their thinking and actions because of the above? I think so.

Not if you can hold onto your common sense.

Usually articles and blogs written for the google ranking read like random BS put together, heavily repeating things and keywords for the algorithm, useless linking to other useless pages and so on. I usually can't go past the first line, so no way they can control humanity minds.
Facebook on the other hand....

ETA: thank you for that link, I was curious about some things in Google's algorithm. SEO is one of my little hobbies.

a reply to: Profusion

i got photo proof skynet is here

a reply to: Profusion

01101110 01101111

Yep , loses something in translation .

It's official, were screwed...

Skynet is no longer mere science fiction

The American National Security Agency, or NSA, has a secret surveillance program called Skynet. Skynet – a reference to the self-aware computer system that attempts to wipe out humanity in the Terminator film franchise – was used by the NSA to identify terrorist connections. The secretive program tracked the movements of people within Pakistan using mobile phone data, The Intercept has reported.

It also kept track of people travelling certain days of the week and monitored those who swapped SIM cards on a regular basis. Skynet alerts authorities if the habits matched those of suspected Al Qaeda couriers. The program was uncovered in a number of documents released by Edward Snowden. The success of Skynet was not yet been disclosed.

Skynet is REAL – and it has been up and running for years

2013 - 2033 The rise of Skynet

...and now we enter the realm of the vast unknown. From here, as Sarah Connor says, we must make our own future. But given the incredible lack of ethics in the scientific community combined with the pure evil of the government and the NSA, here's my prediction of what we could see from here forward:

• 2018: Google turns over its search engine algorithm to a massive network of self-learning machines. Soon thereafter, a voice interface is added to Google, achieving the "Star Trek computer" goal that Google first outlined in the 1990's.

• 2020: The NSA removes nearly all human analysts from its surveillance analysis operations, instead turning to self-learning quantum machines to analyze all surveillance data.

• 2026: The U.S. Air Force eliminates all pilots, installing self-learning quantum machines to pilot all aircraft. Far beyond drones (which are remotely piloted), these aircraft are autonomous, self-learning, self-aware machines that even decide how to approach particular mission goals.

• 2031: Robotics technology advances to the point where 90% of human soldiers are replaced by self-aware "terminator robots" on the battlefield. Robot factories gear up for mass production.

• 2033: The first self-learning military machine goes rogue, deciding that it no longer wishes to function as a slave to "inferior" masters known as humans, all of whom are irrational, psychotic and a danger to each other and the planet. This rogue machine just happens to be an aircraft carrier carrying dozens of AI warplanes. It goes "Skynet" and attacks the Pentagon. But this turns out to be nothing more than a masterful diversionary attack...

Skynet rising: NSA surveillance to be turned over to AI machines

“The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Sounds like a quote from any number of the popular, sci-fi movies dealing with robots and revolution, right? Wrong. This warning comes from one of the foremost thinkers of our time, Stephen Hawking.

It is no wonder, then, that Hawking, other scientists, tech innovators and AI experts have signed an open letter issued by the Future Of Life Institute calling on the field to safely coordinate endeavors and ensure AI does not pose an existential threat as it advances toward human-level intelligence. Elon Musk takes this matter so seriously, he pledged 10 million dollars to support the organization and its research.

5 Ways Skynet Is More Real Than You Think

a reply to: Profusion

Of course we're not being mind controlled by the internet. You just need to get out more. Maybe take a drive in your new 2016 Dodge Ram Outdoorsman with the Mossy Oak package and the optional Rambox cargo management system for all your outdoor needs.

There was a social experiment done by Facebook in 2012, involving around 700,000 users. Basically what happened was the content of their news feed was altered, with some people being presented with mostly negative news, and others presented with mostly positive news. The content of their posts was analysed, and showed that the people exposed to negative news used more negative words and emoticons in their posts, and likewise the people shown more positive news had more positive content in their posts.

So, by tailoring the type of information presented to people, their thoughts and actions are influenced depending on what type of content they are exposed to.

Now, keep in mind, that this technique is not necessarily limited to the internet. All media outlets are biased, and whether you like it or not, your thoughts and actions are heavily influenced by the media, whether it be online, in the newspapers, on the radio, or on television. Not only do the corporations behind the news broadcasts pick and choose which stories to tell, they also influence their audience via the inherent bias of their words.

It's not fantastical mind control like you might see in the movies or whatever, like they're not directly getting into your head and altering your thoughts per se, but their influence on society cannot be denied.

In highschool, I had a fantastic teacher who taught us all about media bias and how it influences people, whether it be to encourage people to buy things, or support a particular political group. Sadly, most students are not educated in this, which I think is a damn shame. In an ideal world, all young students would be educated on how the media operates, the better to maintain a discerning and critical view and to avoid being sucked into the media's bias.

originally posted by: DeepThoughtCriminal
It's not fantastical mind control like you might see in the movies or whatever, like they're not directly getting into your head and altering your thoughts per se, but their influence on society cannot be denied.

I'm talking about something different than that. I'm talking about computer algorithms controlling content providers on the Internet. Here are some examples that I hope will clarify what I'm referring to:

SEO 101: The 29-Point SEO Checklist

The Ultimate SEO Checklist: 25 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Your Next Post

It seems to me that some of the posters in this thread are trying to make the phenomenon of writing for search engine algorithms sound like a fringe thing. I can't emphasize this enough:

It is the state of the art on the Internet. Anyone denying that is clueless on this topic.

Part of me thinks that this phenomenon could be a diabolical scheme to dehumanize humanity. I mean, look at the articles above, those articles would have looked insane 25 years ago. There is nothing human about any of it IMHO. It's writing content for machines. The problem is, if you do that enough, does that turn one into a mechanized being?

And again, what does that do to the readers? Does it mechanize them as well?

Those are important questions that I've never seen addressed before.

I think this topic belongs on a professional web developer/blogger forum because I don't think the average person has any idea of how most Internet content is produced these days.

People started being mind controlled the instant Regan allowed News Corporations to turn a profit. Also the invention of Television ... those two contributing factors are the reason we're stuck in a matrix of Dumb. If anything, the Internet's a good way to break the shackle, provided some corporation doesn't successfully pay a few key politicians to control it, then those politicians successfully dupe the easily-led to believe it's for their security to keep the internet in hands of few.

Never in the history of mankind has this much information been available to an individual, with a touch of a finger, since our beginning ... and frankly, we don't know how to handle it, or communicate within it.

a reply to: VictorVonDoom

I don't think it's silly at all. Input equals output.

The internet propagates countless ideas that impact our outlook if not our behaviour. The very concept of a meme is that an idea acts like a virus to replicate itself in order to change its environment and/or spread.

On a side note but possibly related...by kid *always* gets sick before a growth spurt or developmental change. It makes me wonder how viruses and bacteria affect human growth. There's even a strong indicator that gut biology impacts brain function/psychology. Add to it how viruses/bacteria may have spurred life on this planet. Now think about how the internet spreads ideas/memes like viruses.

Question is, is it making us better or worse? Is it controlling us or do we control it?