Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ The auto-suggested life is not worth living

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

I get what Doug Belshaw is saying here but I'm not going to agree with it. I already use the auto-suggestions in my Pixel phone quite a lot (mostly in text messages I exchange with Andrea). Nothing like using one button to day "I'm on my way!" Anyhow, Belshaw suggest that "One way to think about this is as a subtle pressure to conform. It's an approach rooted in behaviourism, the idea that a particular stimulus always leads to a particular response." Who wants to live a life like that? he asks. Well, I do. When I'm out cycling and text Andrea, I want it to know what I'm going to say (eg., "I'm in Ste-Anne de Prescott") and allow me to confirm with a single button. As long as I'm creating the patterns such a device makes my life easier. The more it frees me from the routine, the more room it leaves me for the original and creative.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Nov 21, 2024 12:29 p.m.

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