Will Conficker Botnet Trigger ‘Unthinkable Disaster’?

The 12-million-computer strong Conficker botnet will fall under human control on April 1, leading some to speculate feverishly about what horror awaits an unsuspecting internet on what may be our last April Fools’ Day ever.

Will Conficker become an evil twin to Google that lets criminals easily search for the valuable secrets of people running unpatched, pirated copies of Windows in China and Brazil? Or is it a censorship-busting peer-to-peer network erected by lawless but well-meaning cypherpunks? Most disturbing, will it learn at an exponential rate until it becomes self-aware and decides humanity’s fate in a microsecond? (Wired)