OK; a moment of utter silliness…
Last night I saw a piece in New Statestman – you can find it here – about Facebook and what Facebook knows about us.

The basic idea is, you click “Like” on Facebook, their computers collect and collate the data, and they build an in-depth profile they use to aim their advertisement at you.
Yes, Facebook advertisement… those weird ads about stuff you couldn’t care less that pop up once in a while.

So, basically, you log in on Facebook, and then direct your browser here

https://www.facebook.com/ads/preferences

and start laughing.
Because, admittedly, you realize how far we are from artificial intelligence – and how close we are to artificial dorkness.

According to my Facebook profile, I like Sword & Sorcery, The Kinks, Roleplaying Games, Stevie Nicks and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries… something it does not take massive big data analysis to determine.
But apparently I also like Ebony Magazine (never saw a copy, it’s not sold in my country), Dancing with the Stars (what?), and Pink Floyd¹.

And what of my hobbies?
Cars and motorcycles? French bulldogs?
Owls, yarn, turtles, penguins, the undead, vultures…? My hobbies?²
“Baggage” is one of my hobbies? Really, Facebook? Baggage?
But apparently also Predation, Pollination and Hobbies are among my hobbies. I’d love to get targeted ads for predation.
Or about Ragnarok…

There is a good thing about all of this: you can clear your record.
From that page you can select a series of options can will tell FB to stop trying second guessing you and trying to sell you a two-year subscription to Ebony Magazine with a gift vulture and a Pink Floyd record about pollination included.
Or something.