UH OH. An Update on "Once Upon a Time in the Near Future"

A couple of months back, I got a little fed up with the seemingly intrusive kind of scrutiny I was being subjected to by Facebook's ability to synch with my mobile phone and all the data that little device contains about me. I wrote a little play about this. One or two of you may remember. I really meant this as a gag. Ha. If only.

Turns out I nailed it. Just ask IBM.

Every year, Big Blue publishes its "5 in 5" list, a multi-year forecast examining "market and societal trends expected to transform our lives, as well as emerging technologies from IBM's global labs." The sixth annual 5 in 5 recently came out (http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/ibm_predictions_for_future/ideas/index.html). Have a look at item number 5 on this year's list:

Analytics: Junk mail will become priority mail 

Imagine technology that replaces the unwanted messaging in your life with the next best thing to a personal assistant. IBM is developing technology that uses analytics and sensemaking to integrate data into applications that present only the information you want—and then do something about it. Combining your preferences and your calendar, for example, the technology will proactively reserve tickets to your favorite band's concert when your calendar shows you're free, or research alternate travel plans when it detects bad weather along your route, and then tell you where to go.

Oh crap.