Idiot-Savant Programming

I spent some time reading the news on Yahoo tonight and a story that caught my attention concerned a Arizona state prisoner who died in the OUTDOOR "cell" (really a cage) made out of chain link fencing on 4 sides and on the top. No shade. She was left in the "holding cell" for over 4 hours in 108 degree F heat with no shade.

I'm sorry for her and its inconsequential what her crime was except that she didn't deserve a make-shift death sentence.

Now what really disgusted me on top of that was that Yahoo's idiot savant "content-analysis" software dropped at least 3 ads on the page for chain link fencing vendors.

Some time ago in the "stone-Age" of television and radio, program managers and news departments would prevent airing advertising for airline companies when there was an aircraft disaster in the news. It was considered good taste.

The difference is now there are no human's involved. just computers with what I call "idiot-savant" programs that are real smart at making connections based on vocabulary but idiots when it comes to analysis of content.

Google, and the other search engines do the same thing and I've seen some really idiot results of the programming for content words but not meaning.

You want to make Web 2.0 (or 3.0) work well for people? Program some heuristic content analysis in your advertising. Maybe you won't totally disgust your audience.