Obsequious Infobots
I like the idea of setting up your own news feed through a chatbot, but then I realized we've always had the ability to gather and digest information without an algorithm.
Ever since the early Web, most of what's been built on the Net has been a solution in search of a problem. Chatbots are kind of a old idea, and a solution still looking for a problem. If I want to follow a topic I just set up an alert, something I can do myself.
Automation, other than what's emergent in nature or naturally occurring, is ultimately a very boring prospect, as it presumes all the connecting our brains should be doing naturally, is done with artificial algorithms foisted on us through annoying robots. The real problem in search of a solution is how to make bots less cloying.
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After the first draft of this post, I read this article. There you go: a problem unresolved, because the only solutions we can come up with involve more distractions, baked into smartphone hardware and software.
Ever since the early Web, most of what's been built on the Net has been a solution in search of a problem. Chatbots are kind of a old idea, and a solution still looking for a problem. If I want to follow a topic I just set up an alert, something I can do myself.
Automation, other than what's emergent in nature or naturally occurring, is ultimately a very boring prospect, as it presumes all the connecting our brains should be doing naturally, is done with artificial algorithms foisted on us through annoying robots. The real problem in search of a solution is how to make bots less cloying.
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| One of my drawings, Obsequious, 11"x14" graphite and color pencil on paper |
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After the first draft of this post, I read this article. There you go: a problem unresolved, because the only solutions we can come up with involve more distractions, baked into smartphone hardware and software.
