William Mitchell, the head of the MIT Media Lab media arts and sciences, has written a book, "Me++"

] Me++ describes the move from virtual reality - the old
] 90s idea of the net as a separate, alternative realm - to
] "augmented reality" (AR), in which ubiquitous computing
] and mobile wireless networks are used to reconnect us to
] the real world.
]
] Mitchell muses on how AR will change our sense of our
] selves. Me++ is "a play on C++, the popular programming
] language. Among programmers,++ means incremented or
] extended, so Me++ suggests the computationally extended
] self." He suggests we should no longer think of ourselves
] as "fixed, discrete individuals", but as nodes in a
] network. "I am part of the networks and the networks are
] part of me. I am visible to Google. I link, therefore I
] am."

"I link, therfore I am," has resonance for MemeStreams.

Guardian Unlimited | Online | I link, therefore I am

] ... teaching computers to read lips might boost the accuracy
] of automatic speech recognition. Listeners naturally use
] mouth movements to help them understand the difference
] between "bat" and "pat," for instance. If distinctions
] like this could be added to a computer's databank with
] the aid of cheap cameras and powerful processors, speech
] recognition software might work a lot better, even in
] noisy places.

A good step, but ultimately one would want to include gestures and other elements of "body language".

Beyond Voice Recognition, to a Computer That Reads Lips

] Researchers at both SRI and Carnegie Mellon say it will
] take years of work before computer programs are capable
] of handling informational tasks as aptly as a human
] assistant.

Cognitive assistant work at CMU and SRI. The work at CMU appears to be a synthesis of a number of lines of research into an aggrate package that will actually be useful. The article implies that the SRI work is also an integration effort.

Researchers Push for Computers That Think

] A microchip that uses chemicals instead of pulses of
] electricity to stimulate neurons has been created. It
] could open the way to implants that interact with our
] nervous system in a far more subtle way than is possible
] now.

Thus facilitating two-way comms between biological systems and electronic systems.

New Scientist

] Researchers are working on ways to add social
] intelligence to software, letting people interact with
] computers in a less static way and allowing computers to
] respond to users' emotions more effectively.

This seems to have become the conventional wisdom. Google
on "interface agents" to see that this is very strongly
represented in the agents literature. This article indicates
that it is becoming a significant feature of practice.

TechNewsWorld.Com: Real-Time Technology News from Around the World

] [Ted] Selker is a much-lauded idea man whose prototypes and
] projects have been featured everywhere from Wired to the
] Wall Street Journal to ABC World News Tonight. His most
] famous invention, which he developed as a researcher at
] IBM, is the TrackPoint, the tiny, rubberized mouse button
] in the middle of many laptop keyboards.
]
] These days Selker is focusing on computerized gadgets for
] solving everyday problems. He directs the efforts of
] Counter Intelligence, a research group using computers to
] build the kitchen of the future. He also heads a team
] that is working on

Professor Gadget