The adage, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” attributed to Arthur C. Clarke, seems more applicable than ever.
There is corollary I would like to offer, “Any sufficiently advanced cloud application trailer is indistinguishable from a cheerfully ominous sci-fi novel opening scene.” To wit, I offer,
This is a service, once hooked into your devices, in particular, your smart phone, and social media feeds, etc. tracks everything and compiles it into your very own search repository. They are in beta and have an explanatory video:
Brilliant? Creepy? Both? A solution in search of a problem? Or an early sign of how we will someday outsource our memories to our cloud storage lockers?
Aside from the rich ground for fictional (or humorous) speculation. (How do you call tech support to upgrade/correct your own memories? is there a “fish story” plugin?) it does immediately raise questions about privacy, identity, and invasion/malleability thereof. What happens to this mass of data after somebody dies, is it uploaded into a new person’s avatar. The Sci-Fi possibilities really are endless.
Yet at the same time, before I get my hackles up, all this data is already being collected by the Big Brotherhood, and quite possibly the NSA. Unforgettable.Me is at least offering your data as a service to you, instead of offering you up as raw material for ad revenue and the like.
Another managed quote: “O brave new world that has such data in it.”
A Few Reasonable Words 