All the News Google Algorithms Say Is Fit to Print
Mr. Page said the origin of the service was a demonstration program written in January by a Google engineers that could identify similar articles on many Web pages. Yesterday, for example, Google’s site used this technology to offer users a choice of 1,897 articles on the siege of Yasir Arafat’s compound.
[ . . . ]
“Their front page is not too far off from what is on the Post site at the moment,” said Douglas B. Feaver, the executive editor of washingtonpost.com. “It’s a useful service, but it’s not going to drive me to the unemployment office tomorrow.”
It’s one thing for the bright young new hires to consider you a milestone they will inevitably surpass, but when engineers can make it happen, it can’t be a great feeling.
A dystopian vision is coming into focus: the Machines pick our news for us, program our meals (for optimal nutrition), tell us what crops to plant and when, assemble our entertainment (perhaps even writing the books and composing the music). What do we do for them once they built and plugged in? Make a list of the jobs that are or could be placed under the control of a machine. Then remove humans from the scenario (like the highway or the airways) and we might be on our way to redundance.