Pocket Nostradamus: The A.I. Wars, or Turning Over Governance to Machines

Here is an unnerving prediction: 

The relentless global expansion of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) will spread from companies to governments. 

Humans will turn over local, state and national government to machines. 

While A.I. runs things, people will devote most of their time and resources to the entertainment industry.

Under A.I. leadership, countries will wage war upon each other, using human beings as combat fodder, in a bid to reduce population, greenhouse gases and energy consumption.

Sounds fun, right?

Giant African Snails & Fake Facts: A Cautionary Tale

Giant African Snail (Achatina fulica)

A recent Australian news feature on giant African snails led this blogger to undertake some casual research on this remarkable species, known to scientists as Achatina fulica.

The quest led to discovery of a chunk of false information, hiding in plain sight on Wikipedia. It served as a reminder that “fake news” isn’t the only problem we encounter on the Web and in social media generally; “fake facts” are also sitting out there on a myriad of websites, just waiting to be discovered.

The news feature that aroused my interest was “Giant African snails: A biosecurity threat too big to ignore for Australian agriculture,” appearing on Australia’s ABC News Rural on May 29. The feature itself was fine; I didn’t have any problems with it. Among its fascinating tidbits:

·       The fast-breeding world's largest land snail, the giant African snail, is considered one of the world's top invasive species

·       It can reach up to 20 centimetres in length and consume entire plants — posing a threat to native species

·       Previous detections of the species in Australia have been eradicated but Ausveg biosecurity officers are warning Australian farmers that it is a threat they need to be aware of

Nowadays, when folks find something of interest on the Web and want more info, they often use a well-worn route to further discovery: first search on Google, then read an article on Wikipedia. Unfortunately, many people often end their inquiries at this point. But there’s no guarantee that what you are reading on Wikipedia is accurate. Often you need to check the sources cited there to make sure what you are reading is true.

Sadly, the article on “Achatina fulica” contains some “fake facts.” As often happens, the bogus info appears in a paragraph without any footnotes:

In some regions, an effort has been made to promote use of the giant African snail as a food resource in order to reduce its populations. However, promoting a pest in this way is a controversial measure, because it may encourage the further deliberate spread of the snails.

One particularly catastrophic attempt to biologically control this species occurred on South Pacific Islands. Colonies of A. fulica were introduced as a food reserve for the American military during World War II and they escaped. A carnivorous species (Florida rosy wolfsnail, Euglandina rosea) was later introduced by the United States government, in an attempt to control A. fulica but the rosy wolf snail instead heavily preyed upon the native Partula, causing the extinction of most Partula species within a decade.

Some additional research using the article’s general references led to the discovery that the above passage was rife with errors or possibly deliberate distortions. The second paragraph is the problematic one. It conflates a number of real facts and mixes in some bogus ones.

Further research revealed that the American military was NOT responsible for introducing the giant African snail in the South Pacific. (Those of you familiar with the U.S. and its military will realize that (a) the United States does not regard giant African snails as a food source and (b) the American military would never even think of developing a food reserve of this kind. Potatoes, maybe, but not land snails.)

The giant African snail appeared in different parts of the South Pacific at various times, mostly prior to World War II. It turns out that some Japanese enjoyed eating them. And while, the Japanese government realized the danger of this invasive species and barred its citizens from importing the giant snails, some people brought them into Japan covertly. Other Japanese, apparently including Japanese soldiers during World War II, either deliberately or accidentally may carried giant African snails to various Pacific islands.

One American study, “Studies on Control of the Giant African Snail on Guam” by Gordon D. Peterson, Jr. (Hilgardia: A Journal of Agricultural Science, July 1957), cites a report about the snail’s introduction on Guam:

Guerrero's report presents evidence that Achatina fulicamay have been introduced during the Japanese occupation. He gives an account of his interview with one Jose I. Shimizu, a Japanese half-caste and an old resident of Guam. Shimizu stated that his father, a Japanese national, had learned of the accidental importation of snails with sweet potatoes from the island of Rota in 1943 and had informed the Japanese Governor-Commandant of his discovery. Shimizu also stated that while he was imprisoned at the Island Command Stockade following American reoccupation of Guam, he overheard Japanese prisoners of war telling of their having eaten snails while they were hiding in the jungle.

The same study says that if American forces introduced the giant snail into Guam after taking control of the island from the Japanese, it would have been done accidentally. The snails are very talented at hitching rides in loads of vegetables, hollow pipes, etc.

Another report on “Invasive Species of the Pacific” by the South Pacific Regional Environment Programme (Samoa, 2000) notes that elsewhere in the Pacific, specifically in Hawaii, the U.S. government did introduce a number of species of carnivorous snails in an unsuccessful bid to eliminate the giant African snail. The unfortunate result was serious damage to native snail species – and A. fulica was apparently unaffected by its carnivorous cousins.

Bottom line: Be careful about accepting information uncritically from Wikipedia and similar websites. Always check the sources, and the sources of the sources. You’ll be glad you did.

The Two-Headed Sea Serpent

Right-hand head of Aztec double-headed
serpent, British Museum

In February 1899, a cargo ship brought to Sydney, Australia, the skeletal remains of a huge “two-headed sea serpent” – said originally to weigh seventy tons and extend sixty feet in length – that was found on a beach on Rakahanga island in the Solomons. The find was significant enough to reach the newspapers in the United States. On April 5 of that year, the Los Angeles Herald described the discovery as follows:

The steamship Warrimoo, from Australia, brings an authenticated story from Sydney of a tidal wave which washed ashore an immense two-headed sea serpent on Rakahanga island of the Solomon group. The creature’s weight is given as seventy tons and its length is sixty feet. The skeleton was brought to Sydney by the steamer Emu and presented to the New South Wales museum.

It’s not clear which museum received the sea serpent bones. Today there are many museums in Sydney and New South Wales. A search of the website of Sydney’s Australian Museum – a likely home for natural science finds – turned up no “sea serpent” bones from Rakahanga (or from anywhere).

We managed to dig up more details on the find from Australia’s Sydney Morning Herald(Feb. 23, 1899). The Morning Herald account is more detailed and varies slightly from the Los Angeles Herald report. The story is recounted in part by A.G. Bell, identified as the supercargo on the steamer Emu. Bell said that while the tidal wave devastated Rakahanga Island, the sea serpent was actually found washed up on a beach on Suwarrow Island, 422 km southwest of Rakahanga:

“It was at Manihiki that we were informed of a tidal wave. We had had a very high sea, though no wind to cause it, and the supposition is that on or about the 17th of last month a tremendous submarine eruption occurred. In the Solomons, you have heard, they experienced it, and the natives of Manihiki were in great dread of it, seeing its approach for miles, like a great black wall, as if it would demolish the whole island. Manihiki came out of it with little damage, but one of the most beautiful isles of Oceania was all but swept off the face of the waters. This was Rakahanga. Villages were washed away, the natives taking to the bush, having been forewarned by the roar of the approaching wave. It is counted as one of the high islands in that part of the Pacific, but from all that we heard the mountain of waters swept it like a sea-level shore, and it was miraculous how the people escaped, if indeed they did so…. "Now we come to the most remarkable incident in our voyage," went on the supercargo, and the brightening of his eyes easily foretold that something most unusual was about to be narrated. "After we left Manihiki we returned to Suwarraw [sic] on our way back to Sydney, and while there the natives carelessly remarked that 'one big devil devil' from the sea had washed ashore a little way off two months ago. They did not know its name, only that it had two heads. We went along the beach to where the gigantic animal lay, and long before we reached the scene of the stranding the stench was so horrible we were on the point of abandoning the 'catch.' On getting within sight of it, however, its extraordinary appearance determined us upon acquiring possession of it, and after perils by sea, and worse dangers from the poisoned air, we secured the first sea serpent ever brought to Australia – perhaps to any other place."

Asked by the newspaper’s reporter where the sea serpent was now, Bell replied: "Down in the hold of the steamer, and it will not be unloaded for a day or two – when the vessel comes in to discharge at Parbury's Wharf."

At that point, someone from the shipping company that owned the Emuentered the picture:

At this juncture the representative of the Pacific Islands Company came in to see the supercargo, and remarked that he intended to present the skeleton to the Sydney Museum. It was a pity he said that only the two heads, the two backbones, and part of the ribs had been secured, but as the supercargo observed, "To stay longer collecting the remains would have nauseated the collectors, perhaps beyond recovery," From Captain Oliver's (the master of the steamer) account there was but one body, which had a double spine, and two distinct heads. It is the two heads and the other portions just mentioned that they were so careful to secure. In their descriptions both the supercargo and the captain agree. They say that its hide or skin was a brownish colour, and covered with hair; that the heads somewhat resemble horses' heads. The approximate weight of the great sea serpent, whence the remains aboard the Emu were taken, is given at not less than 70 tons, its length fully 60 ft.

  

The Morning Herald mentioned several other accounts of sea serpents in the South Pacific, and then concluded its article with a quote from the manager of the Pacific Islands Company:

"Sensational sea serpent stories have been repeated scores of times, but there is no getting away from the actual heads and parts of the frame of this animal secured at Suwarrow by our steamer, and now on board. Whatever naturalists may think of the existence or non-existence of this denizen of the sea depths, here are the proofs, the most interesting proofs from a zoological point of view probably on record."

What ultimately happened to the mysterious two-headed skeleton, we’re unable to say at this point. But we’ll keep searching….