To know all is to serve

The Pentagon's proposed LifeLog initiative -- which would record and database everything about an individual -- has drawn fire from civil liberties advocates. But there's a less imposing side to it as well, Wired News reports.

Researchers at the Defense Advanced Research Products Agency say it's just one step in a push to create machines that can make decisions in real-world situations -- and, perhaps, even think for themselves. LifeLog would make possible a digital assistant that can learn about its owner's wants and wishes, then anticipate his needs. The perfect servant, after all, needs an intimate knowledge of his master.