Why Computers Won't Replace You Just Yet

- "40% of smartphone users connect to Internet immediately upon awakening, before leaving bed. #TheFuture http://bit.ly/WYRz39 @TheAtlantic"

- "Cybercrime market now greater than annual global market for marijuana, cocaine, and heroin #TheFuture http://bit.ly/WYRz39 @TheAtlantic"

Can you guess which one was retweeted more often?

Three computer scientists, Chenhao Tan, Lillian Lee and Bo Pang, have built an algorithm that also makes these guesses, as described in a recent paper, and the results are impressive. (The answer: The first one got more retweets).

That an algorithm can make these kinds of predictions shows the power of "big data." It also illustrates its fundamental limitation: Specifically, guessing which tweet gets retweeted is significantly easier than creating one that gets retweeted.

For more information, see:

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/science/news/why-computers-wont-replace-you-just-yet-552187