Web Bot, or the Web Bot Project, refers to an Internet bot 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.[1] 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 halfpasthuman.com.
Methodology
The Web Bot works by using a form of the Wisdom of Crowds. Spiders search the internet for about 300,000 keywords with emotional context[2] and record the preceding and following words to create 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 in advance.
Predictions
Claimed hits
Some of this article's listed sources may not be reliable. |
The Web Bot is claimed to have predicted several events prior to them occurring, most notably the September 11 attacks and the 2003 Northeastern United States blackout.[3] Although, many believe the predictions are vague and, at best, pseudoscientific.
- September 11 attacks - In June 2001 Web Bot predicted that a catastrophic event would occur within the next 60-90 days.[4]
- Northeast Blackout of 2003 - The Web Bot reportedly predicted the power outage in the Northeastern United States in 2003 accurately before it occurred.[5]
- American Airlines Flight 587[6]
- Space Shuttle Columbia disaster[5]
- Dick Cheney hunting incident[5]
- 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake[4]
Misses
- 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.[7] 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.[citation needed]
- A "global coastal event" in mid-2009, which Ure and High said that they recommended people to stay away from coastal areas.[8] Although, again believers claim that the Web Bot was predicting the 2009 Samoa earthquake, although it did not happen in "mid 2009", but rather in late 2009.[citation needed]
- A complete collapse of the US Dollar in 2009.[9]
- A massive earthquake in Vancouver/Pacific Northwest was predicted on 12 December 2008.[8]
Future predictions
- October 25, 2009 - A catastrophe starts on October 25, 2009. It could be that the 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.[10]
- 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 poles.[11][1]
Reception
The History Channel has discussed Web Bot in its special Nostradamus Effect and on other shows featuring predictions about the end of the world.[12] A Globe and Mail journalist noted that "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."[8]
Tom Chivers in the Daily Telegraph notes three criticisms of the project: "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, ... the predictions are so vague as to be meaningless, [and] the prophecies become self-distorting."[1]
References
This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. |
- ^ a b c Chivers, Tom (24 September 2009). "'Web-bot project' makes prophecy of 2012 apocalypse". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ Shamah, David (23 December 2008). "Digital World: I have seen the future, and it's on the Web". The Jersalem Post. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b "World's expiry date: 21 December 2012?". NewKerala.com. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ a b c [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ a b c Taylor, Timothy (January 2009). "Vanwaterworld? Hold the Armageddon talk". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2009-10-04.
- ^ [5]
- ^ "Web Bot Predictions". Coast to Coast AM. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ "World's expiry date: 21 December 2012?". ExpressIndia. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
- ^ [6]