Harvard Prof Says Computers Need to Forget

Jessamine writes "A Harvard professor argues that too much information is being retained by computers, and the machines need to learn how to forget things as humans always have. "If whatever we do can be held against us years later, if all our impulsive comments are preserved, they can easily be combined into a composite picture of ourselves," he writes in the paper. "Afraid how our words and actions may be perceived years later and taken out of context, the lack of forgetting may prompt us to speak less freely and openly." Will such massive databases make us all act like politicians? Is data retention creating a "panopticon"? These are questions that the good doctor raises."

Comments

Re:And in the spirit of things

[alisson]

The problem is that many people do care. Even more unfortunately, Americans seem to have a hard time distinguishing between what to ignore (Swift boat veterans paid to speak against John Kerry,) and what may be a real reflection of character (George Bush skipping out on his Air Force duty.)