“Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of congress; but I repeat myself.”–Mark Twain

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Happy Friday the 13th.  With that cheerful note, we go straight to the foibles of the U.S. Congress.  Did you really think that Senators that look and sound more like stuffed dinosaurs than live human beings could really extract anything meaningful from hearings with Mark Zuckerberg?  Really?  I didn’t think so.  My audience is more with it than that.

While you’re reading the future news of the week, don’t forget that  the Seeking Delphi™ podcast is available on iTunes, PlayerFM, blubrry , and has a channel on YouTube.  You can also follow us onTwitter and Facebook.

Social Media/Future of Privacy–In a scathing opinion piece on Futurism.com,  Victor Tangermann said that congress is ill-equiped to regulate Facebook.  He says they simply don’t  understand it.

Man or machine?

–Zuckerberg wasn’t exactly stellar in his performance, either.  CNBC’s Jim Cramer speculated that he might not be able to pass a Turing Test.

–Is privacy dead?  Speaking on the Seeking Delphi™ podcast, noted futurist Gray Scott says it has simply become irrelevant. (Scroll all the way down for the YouTube link).

Artificial Intelligence–The military is pursuing AI that mimics the human brain.  But one DARPA scientist thinks that’s the wrong approach.

Biotechnology–It isn’t just for–well, you know–any more.  Viagra might be effective against some cancers.    That’s what I call a pick me up.

NASA/Space–NASA has begun construction and testing on the next Mars rover, due for launch in 2020.

image credit: BMW

Autonomous Driving-Whatever the problems and perceptions, self-driving cars are not going away.  BMW became the latest major player, launching an autonomous vehicle research center.

Automation/Future of Work–What’s billed as the world’s first “unmanned” bank has opened in Shanghai.  It’s complete with a robot bank manager.

A reminder that the Seeking Delphi™ podcast is available on iTunes, PlayerFM, blubrry , and has a channel on YouTube.  You can also follow us onTwitter and Facebook.