Autocomplete Will Steal Your Life If You Let It
The machine wants to own us
When does technology stop assisting our actions and start directing them? And what can we do about it?
A few years back, Gmail started suggesting responses. They’re mostly pretty solid — when asked if I can make a meeting, it offers up “Sounds good, I’ll be there!” and “Sorry, can’t make it” as options. A document for review triggers “Got it, thanks!” and “These are great!” (Gmail-bot is indefatigably enthusiastic and considers exclamation marks the default punctuation for ending sentences).
All this is super-convenient, especially if I’m punching out a reply on a mobile device with my stubby sausage fingers while walking down the street carrying a hot beverage.
But it’s also insidious.
Regardless of how the product people at Google pitched it, features like this aren’t added out of altruism. If Gmail saves me keystrokes, I’ll use it more, meaning Google can scrape the details of my virtual life more effectively, the better to follow me around the internet with advertising for variable-rate mortgages and dad jeans and other non-needs that occupy my online time-wasting.
Communication is about more than just responding with the fewest possible clicks. It’s about tone, feeling, and personality…
