Ever since Hal refused to open the pod bay doors, we’ve all had experiences where the machine was smart, but not smart in the right way. Maybe our lives aren’t in jeopardy. But our frustration is just as real as Dave’s.

Sometimes, the results are humorous. For example, machine translations can be hilarious. I remember translating a technical document from English to French. I laughed out loud when I got to the phrase “throw the connections from the pool.” I realized that a machine translation would have involved “jeter” (to throw, like a ball) and “piscine” (swimming pool), resulting in database connections flopping about on a mythical pool deck like so many fish. Oh, the words themselves would have been accurately translated. But they would have been out of context. And the whole thing wouldn’t have made sense.

Translating by simply mapping one word to another is not unlike assuming that all purchasing decisions are the same. Or displaying online ads based on words rather than the intent of content. The results are sometimes odd. Sometimes funny. Sometimes annoying. (For some truly mind blowing examples of badly placed ads, check out http://contextuallyactive.com/.)

So how to take into account the complexity of reality? How to recognize that “pool” just might not be made of concrete and filled with water? How to understand that who I am is not just what I’ve bought at your site? Or recognize that what I want is not exactly what someone else who bought the same book as me wants? How to grok content and not see just an assemblage of words and pictures?

Well, you’ve no doubt read some about what we do on this site. And, in the context of tailoring media recommendations to you, that’s what we’re trying to do. Figure out context, meaning recognizing your tastes. Your tastes. Not some wild guess about what you might like because you once said you liked “Goodfellas.” Cool, yes?

But better than cool.

Different.

Complex.

Kind of in the same way humans are. Not neat and square and machine-like. But bumpy and multi-layered, and multi-colored.

Take another look at your MatchKey. It’s not a box. Actually, it’s kind of round and spikey and sloppy. More like life. And that’s context.

I like that. That’s why I think (and hope) we’re on the right track. Because life really isn’t like a box of chocolates. Or like a box at all.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 10:09 am and is filed under Human Factors. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.