Hello readers, and sorry for the unintentional hiatus on the blog. Anne and I have been recovering from the just-completed semester only to be thrown back into another busy semester. As we adjust, feast on this potpourri post of interesting HF-related items from the past week.
In todays HF potpourri we have three very interesting and loosely related stories:
- There seems to be a bit of a resurgence in the study of anthropomorphism in HF/computer science primarily because…ROBOTS. It’s a topic I’ve written about [PDF] in the context of human-automation interaction. The topic has reached mainstream awareness because NPR just released a story on the topic.
- The BBC looks at the rise of websites that seem to talk to us in a very informal, casual way. Clearly, the effect on the user is not what was intended:
The difference is the use of my name. I also have a problem with people excessively using my name. I feel it gives them some power over me and overuse implies disingenuousness. Like when you ring a call centre where they seem obsessed with saying your name.
- Finally, a link to our sister-HF blog (by Arathi Sethumadhavan) examining how priming can influence safety.