Looking Back at Postage Stamps in the Age of Automation
The way we communicate is constantly changing. We don’t write letters like we used to, but we do have GIFs and rainbow-vomit selfies. The latest trend is automation. Apps routinely suggest what you should say next or complete your sentences after a couple words. These suggestions come from crunching billions of conversations, so they’re compelling if not personalized. With every iteration, our conversations get easier and faster, but we are less involved in them.
This comes at a poignant moment in history. We’re more connected than ever but also more isolated. The rate of loneliness, according to former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy, has doubled since the 1980s, and some public health experts are calling it an epidemic. This is one problem that better automation won’t solve.
Let’s talk about postage stamps.
