A Proposal for Facebook Plus

After processing the revelation that Facebook makes $4.34 per user, I had an idea for a new premium service they could offer.

It would be called "Facebook Plus," a big middle finger to a certain other Internet company.

Users who subscribe to it would be shown no ads. They would not be targeted for new services or products. Facebook would not sell their profile pictures to other companies for use on dating sites. They would not allow third-party apps to post to these users' profiles. They would not track these users' online activity. They would not mine their online data to create marketing profiles or research consumer habits.

It would cost $5 a year.

It will never happen.

Apple vs Aperture

Leaked image from Apple's new advertising campaign.

The New Turing Test

Even as we approach the point when a computer capable of passing the Turing Test finally starts to seem achievable, people are slowly starting to realize that this long-sought pinnacle of artificial intelligence might not be such a significant milestone after all. What would the benefit of a computer that can convincingly imitate a human being actually be? What could its practical applications be? Tricking people into joining dating sites? Spamming them? Stealing their personal information through phishing schemes?

The New Turing Test, one which has the potential to have a real positive impact on human civilization, is this: Can we create a computer capable of designing another computer more powerful than itself?

There isn't going to be an iPhone 5 REVISITED

In light of this week's "new iPad" announcement, I'm going to go out on a limb and predict the name of the next iPhone model:

iPhone

When necessary for disambiguation, the full model name will be "iPhone (6th generation)" - just like the iPod product line.