The discussion draws parallels to the Princeton Global Consciousness Project, which uses random number generators to detect spikes in collective human awareness around major events. Art points out that both projects appear to be tapping into the same phenomenon through different methods. Cliff describes building three-dimensional models from language data, watching clusters of emotional indicators shift and coalesce over time into patterns that reveal future events with an eerie, almost prophetic quality.
In a surprising twist, Cliff reveals that his web bots encountered Chinese source code from a similar military-backed program operating out of central China. After capturing fragments of their code, he endured months of cyber attacks from multiple countries. The conversation spans predictions about maritime disasters, power outages, and the broader implications of mining mass consciousness through the ever-expanding internet.
Key Moments
Web Bot's pre-9/11 prediction: George Ure recounts how Cliff's web bot software, in July 2001, forecast a major world-changing event would soon occur within their 60-day window.
Why emotion drives the bots: Cliff explains the founding insight: noticing the link between emotionalism and the stock market and that predicting how people feel could predict price moves independent of fundamentals.
Princeton eggs and mass consciousness: Art ties the Web Bot work to Princeton's Global Consciousness Project - random number generators ('eggs') worldwide that spike toward coherence around major events.
The 9/11 spike before the attack: Cliff describes a chart spike registered hours before the 9/11 attacks, raising the question of whether collective consciousness or the hijackers' own emotions drove the signal.
Current 'tipping point' read and attack scenario: Cliff shares a fresh bot read suggesting an attacking pair will split, three projectiles, and one being stopped - admitting timing has been their persistent failure.