Enter the good citizens of Qinghua University, with a new software program to clamp down on saucy viewers. The program uses artificial intelligence to analyze data downloaded over the Web, or even on CD-ROMs and floppies. If any pornographic text is found, the computer shuts down. Once installed on a users machine, the puritanical program can only be disabled with the right password. Researchers are working on a version that will recognize porno pictures even without accompanying text.
Further rumors suggest they are taking their time.
Partly it is because modems in the office are usually better, partly because the company pays the phone bill. But mostly we suspect it's because surfing is plain more fun than real work. But whether the average worker could justify spending 46 minutes a month on adult entertainment on his timesheet is doubtful. The muscular new competitor will be an instant player in a market where regulations have ensured no one Internet service provider dominates. All Rights Reserved.