I’m Just Trying to Help

In Naomi Kritzer’s, Cat Pictures Please, she tells a story in which the narrator, a type of artificial intelligence, intervenes on human life to influence humans to take steps to live the best life possible. Noting that this vision is based on what the AI can gather about their needs via digital communications only. The narrator manipulated the information visible to the humans he/she kept tabs on and attempted to influence their decisions. This article intrigued me greatly and made me think about how susceptible we, as consumers, are to the information and advertisements around us.

From television commercials to plastered posters on trains, it seems that everywhere we look, people are trying to influence our decisions. Whether the decision is to purchase a Coke or to watch a movie, we are constantly being persuaded. This was seen as the narrator in Cat Pictures Please had tried to get Stacey to visit a doctor and get a new job by making sure she saw their ads, changing her GPS route, and making sure resume service offerings were visible. However, sometimes no matter how many times someone sees something, it may not persuade him/her to actually do as the advertiser wants.

Constant pushing doesn’t always result in favorable instances. For example, no matter how many pop commercials I see, I will not drink pop. No matter how many times the narrator tried to help Bethany, it didn’t work. I especially enjoyed that Naomi Kritzer decided to write a story that highlighted on the frustrations faced by the AI when his/her efforts weren’t appreciated or influential. It reminded me of helping my friends make decisions and feeling frustrated when they don’t take my advice and end up hurting themselves. I find it very meaningful that Kritzer showed that AI can have feelings and frustrations in her story and that they almost behave just like us ー besides the in-person versus internet communications interactions.