Better Living Through Algorithms

Naomi Kritzer gives us her vision of Better Living Through Algorithms:

June was the first of my friends to get into it. This isn’t surprising—she was playing Wordle for weeks before Margo or I discovered it. When we met up for our weekly lunch, she kept checking her phone and I assumed it was some new game. Then she put it down with a smile and said, “Abelique told me not to pick up my phone again until after lunch was over.”

“Who?” Margo said.

“It’s this new app for better living.”

“I love the idea of an app that tells you to put your phone down more. For your own good,” Margo said, her eyes glinting. […]

Compare and contrast with Bruce Sterling’s Maneki Neko from 1998.

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