Making Intelligence a Bit Less
Making Intelligence a Bit Less Artificial (NY Times - free registration required): "To improve the recommendations, many software developers are doing an about-face from the mid-1990's, when they put their energy into getting computers to do all the work. Today they say that automated programs that look for patterns in customer data are not smart enough to detect a gaffe. Something more sophisticated is required: the human mind.
People are becoming a critical component: analysts who understand why a particular type of music appeals to some people, categorization experts who know how to cross-reference material, retail executives who tweak the system to improve the bottom line and reviewers who check for nonsensical or offensive results."
# May 1, 2003