I hate to be such a nitpicker, but this pretentious crap is phony journalism. Can't these ignoramuses look in the ---ing dictionary or thesaurus for a WORD?? A NOUN IS NOT A VERB. < /rant>Didn't you ever read Moby Dick? Starbuck asks Captain Ahab why he is so obsessed with killing this particular whale, and Ahab replies, "He tasks me! He tasks me, and I shall have him!"
Yes, "task" is a noun, it is also a verb.
My teacher used to rant the same thing at me when I asked if I could get a drink.
The author probably saw "The Wrath of Khan".