Access article here.
Today, I went shopping with my brother-in-law and his wife On our way home, his smart phone asked him if he would like to go shopping at Sprouts, where they usually usually go shopping. It had recognized that, not only had we left home, but we were in the parking lot of a grocery store, and it 'made the assumption' that he was trying to find Sprouts and was lost. His reaction (he thought it was really nifty) was very different from his wife's reaction (she thought it was scary) on how predictive technology is now. The article discusses how software's power to predict can be detrimental to a person as well as being a useful tool. I don't believe that is completely the case. Personally, I find ads annoying regardless of whether the product being advertised is a product that is related to my most recent Google searches, and I always find it nice that I can find what I'd like to type in an option under the search bar, because that is a few milliseconds less that I have to wait for the information to come. I understand the concern that people have for the increasing "smartness" of technology, but I don't believe that is detrimental to humanity.
I like your use of a personal story as part of your post. It got a little bit long though. But you definitely shared what you thought, which is the important part. So, good job.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe it's detrimental to humanity either, but it'd be nice if it can be turned "off". What if someone got a targeted ad on Netflix for a new diabetes medicine, and their friend was with them watching Netflix, and the friend found out that the person had diabetes? What if they didn't want anyone to know they had diabetes, but had searched about it privately when no one was around? These kinds of scenarios are when the targeted ads would need to be turned off.
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