From: Eliezer S. Yudkowsky (sentience@pobox.com)
Date: Sat Apr 14 2001 - 12:06:07 MDT
> The cyborg firm that comes closest to the sci-fi vision
> of people plugging cables into their heads is Keen,
> another San Francisco firm. Keen in effect allows
> experts to rent out their brains over the Internet,
> charging by the minute. Anybody can register on Keen's
> website as a "speaker" on a particular subject, such as
> computer troubleshooting, tax regulations or tarot-card
> reading. Speakers specify when they are available and
> set a billing rate, which averages $2 per minute.
>
> Users of Keen who are looking for answers to a
> particular question choose a speaker and click a "call
> now" button. Keen then calls both the user and the
> speaker over the ordinary telephone network. Once the
> call is over, the user is billed and is also invited to
> give the speaker a numerical rating, which appears on
> the website and helps distinguish real experts from
> charlatans. Speakers pocket 70% of the call revenue;
> some are earning over $2,000 a week.
It's the ACLE! The Association of Computer-Linked Experts!
Next in the news: "Seventh Dac ship to enter our Solar System."
Chalk up a BIG HONKIN' SUCCESSFUL PREDICTION for Kevin O'Donnell Jr.
-- -- -- -- --
Eliezer S. Yudkowsky http://singinst.org/
Research Fellow, Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence
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