An unusually good day for FutureBrief, at least as far as chiasm's interests are concerned - don't have time to comment on these individually, but they're all worth reading -
ASSIST, Advanced Soldier Sensor Information System and Technology, is a new DOD project which "aims to collect what a soldier sees, says and does in a combat zone -- and then to weave those events into digital memories, so commanders can have a better sense of how the fight unfolded." e.g. Welcome to the frontier of personal black boxes! Within my lifetime (within a decade or two even) I expect to have digital memory aids that will help me search through my various life experiences as easily as I search through old e-mails today - so even though I'm busy punching holes in my memories of my awesome 20s, I'll be able to endlessly relive and analyze my midlife crises!
The BBC talks about how modern communications technologies, instead of making us more distant and detached from each other, can actually enhance and increase our emotional connections. I'm like no shit, haters and information age paranoiacs are like no way!
Also on the transparency tip, scientists say that open sharing of information on the genomes of dangerous bacteria and viruses is more important to combatting the threat of bioterror than it is to increasing the threat. I'm no scientist but I am feeling it.