Friday, January 15, 2016

This Week in EID - Episode 88



We had a great week in EID.  It is always good to start the year off right. 

Here are just a few of the highlights.

On Monday, we risked evoking some gender defense mechanisms by talking about some new research on gender differences in navigating.  Apparently, it is not that men or women are better.  There is a fundamentally different way that they (we) think. Not everyone of course.  But statistically significant.

On Tuesday, we shared a case study by Edward Wilson that discussed perceived value versus actual value.  It is easier to use perceived value as a marketing tool, but that is misleading to the unsuspecting user.  I mistakenly implied that Edward was in favor of that approach, so I want to reiterate here that I was AGREEING with his CRITICISM (yes, I am yelling that out loud!!!) of the approach.

On Wednesday, we presented a really intriguing idea from Jerry Kaplan about whether AI should understand social graces.  In part because it makes AI easier to interact with.  But the intriguing part is how many of the activities we do each day have tacit social cues that really tell us what to do.  Critical information, not just niceties.

Then we closed the week on Thursday with a post on End User License Agreements, those annoying windows of small text you have to “accept” before you can use a new app, website, or software.  Deep down, we know we are signing away any and all privacy we might still have.  But we don’t feel like we have any choice in today’s world. But what about kids? At what age should be legally allow them to make that choice?

Click through to get the details on any of these stories.