To me, computers used to be fun when you commanded them what to do, they did it, then they prompted you for another command.
Now, more and more, computers are trying to tell us what to do. Notifications, unwanted ads, spam, recommendations, pop ups, accept this, subscribe to that, dark patterns trying to get me to do something… I never commanded my computer to do these things. Some product manager at some company 1000 miles away simply decided my computer should do these things, without even my input. Even my operating system! After booting up, it’s running hundreds of programs simultaneously. I did not tell it to run these things! It’s doing it all by itself out of the box. I feel less and less in control of my computer and more and more a bystander.
We (the software industry) have royally screwed up computers. Users used to be in control and now they are the ones being controlled or at least “influenced.”
Now, more and more, computers are trying to tell us what to do. Notifications, unwanted ads, spam, recommendations, pop ups, accept this, subscribe to that, dark patterns trying to get me to do something… I never commanded my computer to do these things. Some product manager at some company 1000 miles away simply decided my computer should do these things, without even my input. Even my operating system! After booting up, it’s running hundreds of programs simultaneously. I did not tell it to run these things! It’s doing it all by itself out of the box. I feel less and less in control of my computer and more and more a bystander.
We (the software industry) have royally screwed up computers. Users used to be in control and now they are the ones being controlled or at least “influenced.”