Facebook M

Scott Dombkowski
Sep 9, 2018 · 1 min read

Facebook​ ​M was ​a​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​functionality​ ​within​ ​a​ ​messaging​ ​platform (Messenger),​ ​but​ ​unlike​ ​Google Allo’s Smart Reply​ ​it​ ​goes​ ​beyond​ ​an​ ​algorithm.​ ​Facebook​ ​M​ ​utilizesd ​“Human​ ​trainers​ ​[who]​ ​gamely​ ​do​ ​their best​ ​when​ ​they​ ​receive​ ​tough​ ​queries​ ​like​ ​‘​Arrange​ ​for​ ​a​ ​parrot​ ​to​ ​visit​ ​my​ ​friend​,’”​ ​(Simonite, 2017)​ ​that​ ​are​ ​impossible​ ​for​ ​a​ ​machine​ ​learning​ ​algorithm.​

It was not uncommon for ​misunderstandings to​ ​materialize​ ​because​​ ​of users’​ ​and​ ​interfaces’​ ​contrasting​ ​mental​ ​models.​ ​For​ ​instance,​ ​Facebook​ ​M​ ​received​ ​numerous unachievable​ ​requests,​ ​because​ ​“​with​ ​limited,​ ​fully​ ​automated​ ​assistants​ ​like​ ​Siri​ ​or​ ​Alexa, people​ ​tend​ ​to​ ​settle​ ​into​ ​using​ ​a​ ​few​ ​functions​ ​they​ ​find​ ​to​ ​work​ ​reliably.​ ​[But​ ​w]ith​ ​M,” (Simonite,​ ​2017)​ ​a​ ​user’s​ ​notion​ ​of​ ​what​ ​is​ ​possible​ ​is​ ​flawed,​ ​leading​ ​to​ ​ineffective “interchaning[ings]​ ​of​ ​thoughts​ ​and​ ​words.”​ ​(OED​ ​Online,​ ​2017)​ ​

Connection

Facebook M’s implementation of backup processes is insightful, the consideration of backups while costly could help me overcome limitations in natural language processing.

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Scott Dombkowski

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Men Are from Kepler-438b, Women Are from Kepler-442b

Updates, findings and other things from my thesis, Conversational Symbiosis Amongst Humans and AI in the Context of Plateaus in Romantic Relationships

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