Predicting The Future Through Social NetworksNicholas West This particular study is using Twitter as its resource. It is interesting to see the mention of attempting to predict possible outbreaks of epidemics as this is exactly the solicitation that was put out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year. And this is just the tip of the iceberg for the deeper role of social media. As Melissa Melton reported, the EPA was zeroing in on keywords to data mine for evidence of the flu, but also could have corollary uses: A national campaign has begun with the intention to shame and peer pressure everyone to get the flu shot. The campaign was created by Sanofi-Pasteur, the company who makesyou guessed ita flu vaccine called Fluzone, approved by our good friends at the FDA in 2011. (They also collaborate with the notable eugenicists of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.) You can find out more about the FLUgitive campaign on Facebook. Theres also the potential usefulness of combating, say, adverse reaction reports to vaccines as they happen you know, to reassure the public that the flu shot is totally safe in case they should get any other misinformation about it. (Source) The stated applications have disturbing implications: detecting demonstrations, political views, or the spread of epidemics through the messages people write. Or, one could surmise the spread of political epidemics, such as anything that emerges to contest the official narrative. This video is in Spanish, but you can click the CC (captions) button in the bottom right corner of the video to read along in English. What is further interesting to note is that it is possible to analyze in real time. So if there is any question remaining about the dual-use nature of social networks, this should lay it to rest. The press release states it in no uncertain terms: And once identified, the phase of social engineering can presumably be implemented. Here is one concrete example that researchers observed: Obamacare. This system is one more step toward creating a world that is mapped in advance by those with the power to collect and analyze data on all of us, largely without our knowledge. We are already beginning to see the implementation of pre-crime police systems, patents for the use of predictive behavior tech to trigger product shipments, the aforementioned concern over flu vaccine evaders, and an intense interest in governmental use of social media keywords to monitor, start or disrupt political activity. The Cuban Twitter scandalmight be the best example as even the Associated Press had to report that the primitive social media network, known as ZunZuneo . . . aimed to stir political unrest in Cuba.The network was created under the U.S. Agency for International Development, but its users were unaware it was backed by the U.S. government. Given the trend of current applications and intentions for the use of predictive behavior technology by corporations and governments, the only question that remains is will it ever really be put to use toward something positive? Source: Recently by Nicholas West: 