“The Social Dilemma” drama-doc on Netflix left me with some very specific emotions and revelations. How did you respond to it?
…I was dismayed…
… by the section about the engineering techniques that exploit human psychology. It flipped my perspective 180 degrees about the tech we take for granted. First introduced in Blackberry Messenger (BBM), “delivered”, “read” and “typing now” indicators were revolutionary. But then someone(s) turned revolution inside out.
“Delivered”, “read” and “typing” were bold and vivid indicators of a speedy new world. Suddenly, you didn’t have to speak with someone to know that they received your message. You had confirmation from a reassuring technology.
…I was disturbed…
How does something go from apparently being positive, beneficial, good and useful… to malign and even malignant? That question is one of the central theses in “The Social Dilemma”. Your time and your behaviour have value; and we’ve been adroitly trained to give and give and give.
That wonderful ellipsis shows when someone is typing… and typing… and typing. While someone taps in a short novella, I hang on the edge of seat to be oh-so responsive. But now… I realize… my behaviours have been modified…!…
…I was curious…
I did a tiny experiment with my adult daughters. We were in a messaging conversation. One of them made a concluding statement. I kept typing… then erasing… then typing… then erasing… knowing that they were watching the ellipsis dance.
I kept going… one minute, two minutes, three. Then I stopped. Their presence indicators disappeared. Between us, I had wasted nine person-minutes of time. Inter-generational behaviour mod no less…!
Even though I know now that it’s is safe to look away… to not be Pavolvian… as I wait for the imaginary bell… it is terribly difficult to thwart these time-tested traits.
…I was frustrated…
After watching “The Social Dilemma”, my frustration grew because there was a statement made that I wanted to listen to again. I would know it when I heard it again. And then I would be able to see who said it.
Well, after listening through half of the program all over again… sigh… I just didn’t have the patience or the time to continue.
…and then I connected some dots…
My frustration led me to an interesting connection to IBM Video Streaming. Where the artificial intelligence (AI) entities of social media are portrayed as malevolent manipulators in “The Social Dilemma”, IBM Video Streaming is integrated with Watson in a benevolent “service” fashion.
This built-in feature has one purpose that is positive and productive. When you enable it, Watson transcribes your videos into editable closed captions. IBM Video Streaming is a dual platform for both live broadcast and video-on-demand. Does Watson create captions for both?
If “The Social Network” were a business video on an IBM Video Streaming platform, then I would have been able to answer my question in seconds. This is because the Watson-generated captions allow you to keyword search inside the video.
Wait. Look back.
Did you see it?
Keyword search inside the video.
If you’re like me, you’ve done countless searches on the web using various search engines over time. But when have you ever done a keyword search inside a video? Like this:
Benefits to you? To your business? Absolutely!
Saving time, saving frustration. That’s what you can expect with the Watson integration in the IBM Video Streaming platform. The central thesis here is: enable meaningful content discovery for your audiences. Employees, partners, vendors and customers can all benefit.
*******
Want to see a working example? Let’s meet. Use the calendar link below to set up a Zoom meeting.