Human Attribution

A study that shows that people want human attribution, rather than computer-generated?  So passe!  I'm more interested in how a computer/internet giant could use this information when knitting together crowd-sourced materials.  It actually makes me think of the Google images, where you could tag images with a partner, and the more esoteric the tag you agreed upon, the more points you could get. 

Human attribution is the idea that when a person puts a picture (or any other content, for that matter) online, they are much happier if a human responds (tag, comment, like, etc.) than if that response was computer generated (some programs can auto-tag photos).  That shouldn't be such a weird idea, since we tend to reject robots and artificial intelligences, sometimes because they are too human (but not human enough for us to accept). 

Over time, though, we may get used to having services like auto-tagging.  In that case, we will move to different means of getting human attribution.  Photos may become less important than they are now, because they move beyond sharing lives and into cataloging them.  Videos may be the only medium left where we can prove that computers aren't the ones providing responses. 

Its little computer-controlled items like this that will lead to a technology backlash.  Eventually people will start giving up services like Facebook and MySpace because they just don't offer the same validation as in the past.  And if enough services cut out validation for automation, maybe we will see regression to pre-technological times... maybe?  Please? 

Blue-tooth-everything

As we've been seeing lately, many devices can operate via bluetooth.  The most obvious is the past-trend headset for your cell phone.  Cell phones have also been able to connect to devices like your car through bluetooth technology.  Lately, there has also been the introduction of bluetooth keyboards and computer mice. 

What is lacking is a bluetooth screen.  I was looking into making my cell phone into my primary computer, and found that the majority of what I'd need is already installed on the computer (excluding things like Diablo 3).  My cell phone can already connect to mice and keyboards, but needs to be plugged in to get the most out of my high definition output.  After a cursory glance, I couldn't find any monitors that were bluetooth compatible.  

I know we can never get computers and other electronics completely cordless.  The difficulty off replacing batteries would make it unattractive for the majority, and impractical for the small minority that would adopt it.  But some equipment today, such as your computer and monitor, require two cables - one for power, the other for communication.  I argue that we should be able to get away from needing a communication cable anymore, especially for home use.  And shouldn't television companies be getting in on this too?  LG has, but not enough - their TV supports some connectivity, but not full-monitor display.  :(

Computer Mind Reading

When computers were first invented, they had a keyboard and a cursor.  Then later we added a mouse and graphical displays.  Video games came out with joysticks.  Trackballs.  Touch-screen virtual keyboards.  Swipe-typing.  All of them are physical physical physical!  

Enter the brainwave control helmets!  The ones for sale a few years ago were definitely geeky.  They had electrodes, wires, and probably gears and steam engines.  But today the helmets are becoming smaller, more stylish, and more sensitive.  

Eventually someone (ghost of Steve Jobs) is going to make a product that has no controls other than a headband.  Typing a paper will no longer give you carpal tunnel syndrome.  And it could be faster for navigation, too, as long as you can remember what you need to navigate to.  

And that's just within the next 20 years!  There is every possibility that these types of controls will eventually be implantable, and that people will be able to continuously link to computers around them.  You could have a iHouse that links to your iBrain.  The danger, of course, is the possibility of viruses!  There needs to be some damn good error testing!  

-sjk