In a cynical moment I might propose an alternative title to this article: "Cars can't train horses to drive in city." The more interesting question, of course, is not whether technology will replicate the function of the editor (a specialist position desined for a different publishing paradigm) but rather that of how the role of editor will change in new media. For example: the article says, "Distinguished websites, like good bookstores, will attract readers accordingly. The filter that distinguishes value is a function of human nature, not of particular technologies." True. But the essence of editorship is that this filter is exercised by a single person. What happens when the filter is the result of thousands of people acting simultaneously? The need for human interpretation doesn't change, but the role of editor changes dramatically - or is erased.
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