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{{Short description|Computer program that is supposedly clairvoyant}}

'''Web Bot''', or the '''Web Bot Project''', refers to a software program that is claimed to be able to predict future events by tracking keywords entered on the Internet. It was created in 1997, originally to predict stock market trends.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6227357/Web-bot-project-makes-prophecy-of-2012-apocalypse.html|title='Web-bot project' makes prophecy of 2012 apocalypse|last=Chivers|first=Tom|date=24 September 2009|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|accessdate=2009-10-04}}</ref> The creator of the Web Bot Project, Clif High, along with his associate George Ure, who call themselves "The Time Monks", keep the technology and algorithms largely secret and sell the predictions on the website [http://www.halfpasthuman.com/ halfpasthuman.com].

{{about|the prediction software|internet-based programs|Internet bot}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

'''Web Bot''', oris thean '''Web[[internet Botbot]] Project''',computer refersprogram towhose adevelopers software program thatclaim is claimed to be able to predict future events by tracking keywords entered on the Internetinternet. It was createddeveloped in 1997, originally to predict stocktrends marketof trendscompanies' [[Share capital|shares]] publicly listed.<ref name=telegraph>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/6227357/Web-bot-project-makes-prophecy-of-2012-apocalypse.html|title='Web-bot project' makes prophecy of 2012 apocalypse|last=Chivers|first=Tom|date=24 September 2009|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |accessdate___location=2009London |access-10-04date=4 October 2009 }}</ref> The creator of the Web Bot Project, Clif High, along with his associate George Ure, who call themselves "The Time Monks", keep the technology and algorithms[[algorithm]]s largely secret and sell the predictions onvia the website [http://www.halfpasthuman.com/ halfpasthuman.com].

==Methodology==

The[[Internet Webbots]] Botmonitor worksnews byarticles, usingblogs, aforums, formand other forms of Internet chatter. Words in the [[Wisdomlexicon ofare Crowds]]assigned numeric values for emotional quantifiers such as duration, impact, immediacy, intensity, and others. [[WebThe spider|Spiders]]lexicon searchis dynamic, and changes according to shifts in emotional tension, and how humans communicate those changes using the internetInternet. forAs of 2008, there were about 300,000 keywords in the lexicon, along with emotional context,<ref>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.jpost.com/servletHealthAndSci-Tech/SatelliteInternetAndTechnology/Article.aspx?cid=1229868823280&pagenameid=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull125783|title=Digital World: I have seen the future, and it's on the Web|last=Shamah|first=David|date=23 December 2008|work=[[The JersalemJerusalem Post]]|accessdateaccess-date=4 October 2009-10-04}}</ref> andwhich recordare thefed preceding and following words to createinto a "snapshot." Through this, the technology is claimed to be able to examine the [[collective unconscious]] of the world as a whole. It is thus said to be able to predict catastrophic events 60 to 90 days incomputer-generated advancemodelspace.

The operators of Web Bot interpret the bot's results and make a report called the "ALTA report" available on their website to paying subscribers. ALTA stands for "asymmetric language trend analysis".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.halfpasthuman.com/altaprocess.html |title=ALTA Process |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=8 May 2011 |website=Half Past Human: Adventures in Future Viewing |access-date=10 April 2016 }}</ref> Many believe the predictions are [[pseudoscientific]] and too vague to be meaningful.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailycommonsense.com/web-bot-what-is-it-can-it-predict-stuff/ |title=Web Bot, What is it? Can it Predict Stuff? |publisher=Daily Common Sense |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091012193312/http://www.dailycommonsense.com/web-bot-what-is-it-can-it-predict-stuff/ |archive-date=12 October 2009 }}</ref> Despite this, the creators have made many claims [[Postdiction|after the fact]] that their reports have predicted important events.

==Predictions==

===Claimed hits===

*[[Northeast Blackout of 2003]]<ref name=torontostar>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/Television/article/414923|title=Decoding the End of Days|work=Toronto Star|access-date=25 October 2009 | first=Vinay | last=Menon | date=16 April 2008}}</ref>

{{unreliable}}

*[[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]]<ref name=torontostar/><ref name=newkerala>{{cite web|url=http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-118770.html |title=World's expiry date: 21 December 2012? |publisher=NewKerala.com |access-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090928052351/http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-118770.html |archive-date=28 September 2009 }}</ref>

The Web Bot is claimed to have predicted the following prior to them occurring:

*[[Hurricane Katrina]] and its devastation<ref name=torontostar/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethiopianreview.com/scitech/12308 |title='Web-bot project' makes prophecy of 2012 apocalypse |publisher=Ethiopian Review |access-date=4 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091119080609/http://www.ethiopianreview.com/scitech/12308 |archive-date=19 November 2009 }}</ref>

*[[September 11 attacks]] - In June 2001 Web Bot predicted that a catastrophic event would occur within the next 60-90 days.<ref name=newkerala>{{citeweb|url=http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-118770.html|title=World's expiry date: 21 December 2012?|publisher=NewKerala.com|accessdate=October 3, 2009}}</ref>

*[[Northeast Blackout of 2003]] - The Web Bot reportedly predicted the power outage in the Northeastern United States in 2003 accurately before it occurred.<ref name=urbansurvival>[http://urbansurvival.com/simplebots.htm]</ref>

*[[American Airlines Flight 587]]<ref name=aphroditeastrology>[http://aphroditeastrology.com/2007/05/web-bot-predictions.html]</ref>

*[[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster]]<ref name=urbansurvival/>

*[[Dick Cheney hunting incident]]<ref name=urbansurvival/>

*[[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]]<ref name=newkerala/>

===Misses===

* The Web Bot gained most of its notoriety for contributing to the [[2012 phenomenon]] by predicting a cataclysm that would devastate the planet on 21 December 2012, possibly a reversing of [[Earth's magnetic field|Earth's magnetic poles]] or a small series of nuclear attacks leading up to a major attack during the year. The prediction did not call for a complete end of the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Worlds-expiry-date-21-December-2012/521526/ |title=World's expiry date: 21 December 2012? |publisher=ExpressIndia |access-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329041221/http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Worlds-expiry-date-21-December-2012/521526/ |archive-date=29 March 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eldia.com.ar/edis/20080427/revistadomingo15.htm|title=El Nostradamus virtual (in Spanish)|publisher=[[El Día (La Plata)|El Día]]|access-date=25 October 2009}}</ref>

*October 7, 2008 - Web Bot predicted that between September 22 and September 27, 2008, precursor events would lead up to a "main turning point date" on October 7, 2008 which would be more significant than the September 11 terrorist attacks and then major emotional turmoil would continue for nearly five months.<ref>[http://www.december212012.com/articles/news/Web_Bot_Predictions_for_2008_2009.htm]</ref> Believers in the technology claim that these dates actually correspond however with the stock market crash of 2008, and within a few weeks of its eventual stabilization the following year.{{fact}}

*A "globalWeb coastalBot event"predicted that a massive earthquake would occur in mid-2009,December which2008 Urein and[[Vancouver]], HighBritish saidColumbia, thatCanada theyand recommendedthe people[[Pacific toNorthwest]], staybut awayno fromsuch coastalevent areashappened.<ref name=taylor>{{cite news|url=httphttps://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article651047.ece |title=Vanwaterworld? Hold the Armageddon talk |last=Taylor |first=Timothy |date=January 2009 |work=The Globe and Mail |accessdate___location=2009Canada |access-10-04}}</ref>date=4 Although, again believers claim that the WebOctober Bot was predicting the [[2009 Samoa|url-status=dead earthquake]],|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100329060911/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/article651047.ece although it|archive-date=29 didMarch not2010 happen in "mid 2009", but rather in late 2009.{{fact}}</ref>

* A prediction that the US dollar would completely collapse in 2011, and that [[Israel]] would bomb [[Iran]], with the administration of U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] being thrown into major chaos.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://seekingalpha.com/article/167241-the-market-s-current-psychological-map|title=The Market's Current Psychological Map|date=19 October 2009 |publisher=[[Seeking Alpha]]|access-date=25 October 2009}}</ref>

*A complete collapse of the US Dollar in 2009.<ref>[http://www.niburu.nl/index.php?articleID=20777]</ref>

*A massive earthquake in Vancouver/Pacific Northwest was predicted on 12 December 2008.<ref name=taylor/>

===Future predictions===

*October 25, 2009 - A catastrophe starts on October 25, 2009. It could be that the [[2009 flu pandemic|H1N1 flu virus]] reaches a level of extreme lethality, or [[Israel]] bombs [[Iran]]. In reaction to this crisis, the [[Obama]] administration will be thrown into major chaos ten days later.<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.coasttocoastam.com/show/2009/07/21|title=Web Bot Predictions|publisher=[[Coast to Coast AM]]|accessdate=October 3, 2009}}</ref>

*[[2012 phenomenon|End of the World in 2012]]: The Web Bot has predicted that a cataclysm will devastate the planet in the year 2012, possibly a reversing of [[Earth's magnetic field|Earth's magnetic poles]].<ref>{{citeweb|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Worlds-expiry-date-21-December-2012/521526/|title=World’s expiry date: 21 December 2012?|publisher=ExpressIndia|accessdate=October 3, 2009}}</ref><ref name=telegraph/>

==Reception==

The [[History (U.S. TV channel)|History Channel]] has discussed Web Bot in its special "Doomsday 2012: The End of Days" on [[NostradamusDecoding Effectthe Past#Season 3|season 3 of Decoding The Past]] and on other shows featuringthat feature predictions about the end of the world, such as the ''[[Nostradamus Effect]]''.<ref>[{{cite web|url=http://www.history.com/shows.do?action=detail&episodeId=396904]</ref> A|title=History ''GlobeTV andShows Mail''|publisher=History.com journalist|access-date=4 notedJanuary that2012}}</ref>{{Failed "Whatverification|date=August interests2015|reason=Doomsday me2012 more than the botisn'st accuracylisted (ofanymore. whichProbably I'mnot skeptical), ison the relentlessnetwork negativity of its projectionsanymore.}} AccordingA to''[[The theGlobe bot,and theMail]]'' futurejournalist isnoted alwaysthat: bleak and steadily worsening."<ref name=taylor/>

{{blockquote|What interests me more than the bot's accuracy (of which I'm skeptical), is the relentless negativity of its projections. According to the bot, the future is always bleak and steadily worsening.<ref name=taylor/>}}

Tom Chivers in the ''[[Daily Telegraph]]'' notes three criticisms of the project:

Tom Chivers in the ''Daily Telegraph'' notes three criticisms of the project: "{{blockquote|...the internet might plausibly reveal group knowledge about the stock market or, conceivably, terror attacks [but] it would be no more capable of predicting a natural disaster than would a Google search, {{nbsp}}... the predictions are so vague as to be meaningless, [and] the prophecies become self-distorting."<ref name=telegraph/>}}

==See also==

*[[Global Consciousness Project]]

*[[Google Flu Trends]]

*[[Google Trends]]

*[[Predictive analytics]]

==References==

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{primarysources}}

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{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eschatology1997 software]]

[[Category:Prediction]]

[[Category:ProphecyPseudoscience]]

[[Category:Eschatology]]

[[Category:2012|Doomsday prediction]]

[[Category:2012 millenarianism]]

[[Category:Web crawlers]]

[[Category:2012|Doomsday predictionphenomenon]]