Professor Advocates Computers That Forget

JFK School of Government professor Viktor Mayer-Schönberger has written a paper that advocates COMPUTERS THAT FORGET. The paper, called "Useful Void: The Art of Forgetting in the Age of Ubiquitous Computing," claims we are creating a Benthamist panopticon -- I don't know what that is, but it sounds painful -- by retaining so much knowledge. All that stored personal information will make us all bland and cautious like politicians (or academics). Instead, we should put a self-destruct date on all information.