Team dream

Alan Graham writes about the continued role for humans in mediating online advertising; Euan Semple talks about how personal recommendations are often a better bet than search for finding good stuff online.

The thing is, people are still a whole lot better than machines at understanding the deeper meanings of information, by perceiving its resonance across a web of learned personal, cultural and social associations. In other words, people are able to imbue information with identity—much as they do one another.

On the other hand, algorithms don't need lunch breaks, don't get sick, moody or unmotivated, and don't kid themselves that they are being "objective" in their judgements when they have big chips on their shoulder and axes to grind (this latter representing a significant clouding of transparency in human communication).

Well ok then, how about a partnership, of people plus algorithms? A dream team in the game of information sharing and discovery! Oh bother, I guess a buzzword for that concept has already been trademarked.

The concept's realisation, on the other hand, is only just beginning to come about. This dizzying little video glosses the story so far: