Facebook is still a big deal, with more than 400 million users, but its future will hinge to a large extent on whether it is right about social norms. If the company doesn't properly respect wishes for data control and a better option surfaces, it will eventually be left in the dust -- like so many other "big" tech outfits that no longer make headlines.
During his homily this Easter, Pope Benedict argued that medical science, in trying to defeat death, is leading humanity toward likely condemnation. It's a position at odds with the value of life, one that the Church will likely revise years from now, replaying the institution's embarrassment over censoring Galileo.
Silicon Valley is known for innovative ideas in technology, and now some of the area's greatest minds have come up with a new way to solve one of their biggest operational problems: securing foreign talent. It's called the "startup visa" and it's getting a lot of attention in both California and D.C., because it would help create new jobs.
New technologies that allow users to interact with one another in virtual settings are undoubtedly cool, but augmented reality is served best with a heavy dollop of privacy -- or at least, choice. Social networking fans like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg may believe that the new social norm is making one's personal life fully public, but the recent uproar over Buzz suggests that he's dead wrong.
Affordable genome sequencing is coming soon, but few doctors appear ready to deal with the difficult issues this technology could raise. Suppose a doctor sequences a genome for cardiac data, but finds genes indicating a very high cancer risk in the process. Would the doctor have an obligation to tell the patient? "Doctors aren't prepared for these big conversations," said Stanford law professor Hank Greeley.
