By Dick Pelletier
Futurist Ray Kurzweil, in his book “The Singularity is near”,
offers the possibility that computers will one day become
self-aware, which will result in the melding of humans and
machines. He sees this process well underway by 2025, as nanobots
begin to surf bloodstreams to combat disease and alter our brains
to increase intelligence. 
In a recent article appearing in The Futurist, “Cybercrime in
the year 2025,” criminal-justice expert Gene Stephens predicts that
computer and Internet use will become seamless, as hands-free,
voice-activated data entry and retrieval becomes commonplace
between 2010 and 2015. By 2020, nanotech will increasingly impact
cyberspace; and as we try to gain the most advantages possible from
our new “wonder-net,” dangerous security gaps will emerge that
could turn into nightmares if not handled carefully.
For example, in 2025, as databots are implanted in users’
brains, secure firewalls must be developed to keep intruders from
hacking into the ‘bots and terrorizing recipients. “Could there be
a more frightening crime than having your brain-stored knowledge
erased or scrambled,” Stephens asks, “or hearing voices threatening
to destroy your memory unless you pay blackmail? Welcome to the
world of mindstalking.”
This brings us to the long-ignored issues of who owns the
Internet, manages it, and has jurisdiction over it. The answer now
is: nobody. Can this powerful socio-politico-economic network
continue to operate at random, open to all, and thus be vulnerable
to bad guys? Attempts to restrict or police the web are met with
idealists who believe that the Internet should always be free from
“big brother’s” interference. (cont.)
The Web is becoming more important every day. It will soon be
the number-one means of communicating, conducting business,
socializing, and entertaining. So what’s the answer? Sophisticated
biometrics and other web-compatible ID systems will help, along
with multinational cybercrime units trained to catch bad guys
regardless of where they hide in the world.
But these are short-term solutions and could soon be outmoded by
the ubiquitous wireless Internet with breathtaking speeds expected
by 2020. With no computers involved – only signals in the air to
handle all of society’s social and economic activities – tomorrow’s
Internet will be exposed to a glut of new cybercrimes. Unless a
spiritual, religious or humanistic values revolution occurs and
humans stop stealing, killing, and hurting each other, cybercrime
will thrive.
So here’s the question: Do we tightly control all human
interaction by holding individuals responsible for everything
posted on the Web, or do we allow creativity and individualism to
emerge by not setting boundaries and jurisdictions, leaving it much
like today’s Internet?
Choosing “total control” would curtail cybercrime and make the
Web safe, but it would invade privacy, freedom of speech, and other
liberties. Choosing “nobody-in-charge” allows a free flow of
information and exchange of goods and services, but with a
substantial threat to society.
However forward-thinkers believe these issues will become
irrelevant by mid-2020s when nanobots begin coursing through our
brains to create true “immersive” virtual reality. The greatest
threat then might be the difficulty in separating the virtual from
the physical world. Psychologists warn that perception is stronger
than truth: Cyberreality could offer a more attractive life than
real reality. Welcome to The Matrix.
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