WILL THE WEB FILL UP WITH DEAD PEOPLE TURING PROGRAMS? “When will algorithms for processing the text history of social media discussion forums become powerful enough to basically fake being you? Imagine years of your postings on Facebook or Google+ (G+) processed by some fancy algorithms that use all that material to try to act like a Turing machine and fool others into thinking they are really interacting with you.” Technically, a “Turing Machine” is something different, but here it’s basically shorthand for “software that will pass a Turing Test.” Which on Facebook or Twitter might not be that hard. . . .

Plus this comment: “I was thinking that we will be able to detect when Turing Machines take over comment writing from simpler minds when their posts become more interesting. I figure we’ll need software that detects a rise in posting quality as a sign that a person has been replaced by a machine.”