Categories
Assisted Editing Interesting Technology Item of Interest

Automatic Fact-Checking Coming to the Web.

When computers start understanding context and grading content for accuracy, nothing could go wrong, could it?

Automatic Fact-Checking Coming To The Web – Complications Follow http://t.co/1aTaVRQo

My interest in this story is simply because I want to harness that power to speed the pre-post process or understanding what content we have, in order to better (and more quickly) use it. It also confirms my long-held belief that we are – at least for some kinds of work – be able to semi-automate first assemblies.

In this context:

My best guess is that this will be a growing part of the behind the scenes internet services industry. Google would be a natural contender, indexing as it does much of the data one would need to reach a reasonable judgment. But Google isn’t really in the judgment business. Sure, you’ve got their “best guess for Patrick Swayze age” if you search for it (59!), but evaluating natural-language claims, political or what have you, doesn’t seem like their business. They store and index data and surface what you’re looking for. I think it will be a startup, or someone in academia like Schultz, who provides the first germ of this and starts a movement, though his own contributions may in the end be minimal. The competition will, hopefully, be based on the accuracy of their evaluations, just as the search engines competed on speed and simplicity, or device makers on build and design.

Although let’s not forget what my friend Doug Luberts pointed to: Colossus: The Forbin Project

Forbin is the designer of an incredibly sophisticated computer that will run all of America’s nuclear defenses. Shortly after being turned on, it detects the existence of Guardian, the Soviet counterpart, previously unknown to US Planners. Both computers insist that they be linked, and after taking safeguards to preserve confidential material, each side agrees to allow it. As soon as the link is established the two become a new Super computer and threaten the world with the immediate launch of nuclear weapons if they are detached. Colossus begins to give it’s plans for the management of the world under it’s guidance. Forbin and the other scientists form a technological resistance to Colossus which must operate underground.

I’m mildly more positive.