My Phone Wants Me to Say ‘Thank You’
How to feel about technology that tries to improve our manners
Not too long ago, I applied to give a talk about the social impact of algorithms. The coordinator of the speaker series emailed me to set up a Skype interview, so I picked a day and time. The final exchange ended with an email from me that stated, “Great, thank you.”
My boring note looked like normal correspondence. I’d kept my email brief and to the point, just like people do these days, and there were no odd remarks to trigger red flags.
The thing is, I didn’t actually compose the email — Google’s time-saving “smart reply” software did. Gmail is used by more than 1 billion users as of 2016, and Google estimates that 12 percent of all replies use smart replies.
During our Skype conversation, I spilled the beans and explained that my phone “wanted” me to say thanks.
The interviewer was surprised. She never considered the possibility that at least some of her correspondence might be algorithmically coached. But how many of us do and think about the significance of automating our voices and the associated emotional labor?
Call centers are giving the matter lots of thought. In the latest twist on digital Taylorism, Boston-based company Cogito recently…
