Computing a Parallel Facebook Life

Soon there will be so much information about our lives entered into social network systems to allow us to perform calculations with this historical data to compute "what-if" scenarios i.e. compute a parallel life we could have had if we had made some different decision in the past. For example, if I had gone to Bill's party instead of Craig's party two years ago I would have met Bob there and never have met Anders etc. etc. We could synthesize an entire parallel life based on all the information about us in the form of our status updates, tagged photographs etc. which can be used to compute a new Facebook profile suggesting a different path our lives could have followed.

Alternatively, perhaps we could construct a Facebook profile and set of recent status updates we wish we had (sipping martinis at the W at Times Square!) and then we can try to compute backwards what changes we need to make to our actual Facebook profile and evolution to try and end up at a different point today.

Finally, once we have a sufficient convergence of technology and biology we can download the parallel Facebook profile of an imaged life and reflash our brains to make it our actual life. Of course, you need to reflash everyone else in your life (and everyone else that is not in life your but will be after the reflash).

Comments

• Anonymous
  January 14, 2011
  brilliant. i'm going to be thinking about this all day now Satnam!

• Anonymous
  March 01, 2011
  With enough data and people's information, this can be used to make an alternative version of human history. Amazing :)