Alexa's Christmas Party

[Yupo]

Just an anecdote here. I went to a small Christmas party last night, everyone there about my age (58). The host (recently divorced and probably lonely) was all excited about about his new Amazon Alexa device. Alexa was charged with selecting the music, and did a good job. Maybe half the party seemed to be about proposing marriage (joking) to Alexa for varied responses to different attendees. I (neutrally) told the group a story I had heard about one of these devices calling the police when a couple was fighting. Wow. Everyone there thought that was the greatest thing, to have one of these things in the home for personal safety.

 

[Hesper]

Just an anecdote here. I went to a small Christmas party last night, everyone there about my age (58). The host (recently divorced and probably lonely) was all excited about about his new Amazon Alexa device. Alexa was charged with selecting the music, and did a good job. Maybe half the party seemed to be about proposing marriage (joking) to Alexa for varied responses to different attendees. I (neutrally) told the group a story I had heard about one of these devices calling the police when a couple was fighting. Wow. Everyone there thought that was the greatest thing, to have one of these things in the home for personal safety.

Wow that sounds like a pretty dystopian Christmas party. Sounds like they're expecting to sell 24 million Alexas in the coming year.

 

[Alfisti]

What does 2 + 2 equal Alexa?

 

[Adobe]

I recently spoke with the manager at a business in town, asking why they don’t hire more people, because the place is always swamped. And she said she would love to hire someone to help with the work load, but the office is run by the company’s software. When she spoke to her manager about it, the manager sympathized, but said we can only do what the software tells us.

So, she feels that she may have to quit as the regiment has become too stressful and her family life and health are suffering. This is subjective, but I can’t help but think that the software knows how many people are waiting in line for a job, and the reasonably quick training that can be done, and figures the worker will be replaced easy enough, and that is all part of the process, thus normal.

Going through the workforce, to the AI, or software is just a “thing” in the process, but the people badly need job/income, or they will fall by the way side. This wouldn’t be something the software considers.

It’s very common now to see signs saying, “We are hiring, please go online to apply”. The software that companies use for reviewing a potential employee are said to have billions of data bases to examine the potential employee. So, I’m guessing halfway into an application process the software has already decided for most of the applicants, and the actual person in the HR department gets the few people that the software considers appropriate. And most of the applicants were never seen by a real person. (very efficient)

Its unsettling to see how much society is already being managed by software……and Yupo, I get the same kind of reactions when trying to bring up these issues with others.

My 2 cents

 

[Yupo]

“We are hiring, please go online to apply”

I am now kind of an empty nester, so have the option of doing something else at night. I was in a Michael's store recently, saw a help wanted ad there for an evening art teacher (painting instructor), ASAP. (I am a pretty serious artist, although not my day job.) I talked to the manager, showed her a few of my paintings. I was directed to apply online. OMG, what a long, tedious, psych evaluation was the online application. Never heard a word from them, even thought I was available and fully equipped to start immediately. There was nothing I remember in the application about my experience, training or abilities. Very creepy.

Very glad to be on the far side of the career hump. Feeling like I don't belong in this world. Very thankful to be self-employed and mostly independent. Sorry to go off topic, just needed to vent about our weird world. To me, it seems better to size up a job applicant in a 5 minute face to face chat. You'll get so much more information. Or maybe not?

 

[Adobe]

I have two ideas about “go on line to apply” and the fact that most places keep their signs up permanently. (you can’t need to fill a position “all” the time)

It gives the impression that there is work everywhere i.e. there is nothing wrong with the economy, and that it is constant data gathering on the people in the community.

Work, make some money, meet new people, continue to be active....good plan, I hope you can find something that works for you Yupo

 

[anothermagyar]

Wow. These listening devices are spreading like fungus.
Where I work, I'm a nanny for two children, we have an "OK Google" thingy, which sometimes start talking even you don't say "ok google",
that's what supposed to start the listening function, but the little bastard listening all the time,
so I always speak like the parents would be there. Thinking what I say and how.
Good exercise for self observation.

The other day, I had this weird experience with my phone. I was reading SOTT, on the subway on the way to work and google in a
different window kept popping up: "I'm listening, I'm listening,...".
20- or 30 window popped up, kept saying: "I'm listening, I'm listening".
That was bizarre!

Sometimes I listen music, and also on the subway, the volume kept turned down, I turned up, and turned back down,
kept going until I got out of the subway station.

 

[Yupo]

Apple computers have a voice to text function which can be toggled off or on. This is nice, but not really satisfactory for me as I spend more time correcting issues than I save on using it. So I tried Dragon, regular. Well, some of the technical terms I need to use must be similar to commands, because it is always going haywire when I say some things, erasing everything, or shutting down sometimes, the program or even the computer, etc. So frustrating I didn't use it much. But I thought Dragon-pro, pre-loaded with my specialty terminology would be better. Ongoing issues of the same thing. I did get my money back, fortunately. Don't even a$k.
I am a very slow typist, and unfortunately must get a lot of text out every day. :(
Point to this long tale is that sometimes when I am talking in my office, like on my phone or to an office-mate, an ad soon comes up for whatever I am talking about. I think the listening function is never really shut off.