[HN Gopher] I wrote a program that sends cats to my phone when I...
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I wrote a program that sends cats to my phone when I'm sad at the
computer
Author : steventey
Score : 73 points
Date : 2022-02-22 20:44 UTC (2 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (healeycodes.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (healeycodes.com)
| bombcar wrote:
| I feel that `thecatapi` and `placekitten` should get together and
| save the planet whilst providing various cats at a consistent
| size.
| sebow wrote:
| I remember trying somewhat similar a long time ago(I think it was
| around 2016).I once paused for a bit and realized the long-term
| effects might be the opposite of the intended one, then I
| stopped.There are a lot of ways people can learn to both control
| and embrace their emotions, having a computer in this loop is not
| one of them.
|
| And from what I recall, the actual thing that 'made me happy' (it
| was actually more like shortly lifting up the mood) was the fact
| that the thing worked for a bit, at least superficially.Sentiment
| analysis is very tricky and easily fooled especially if your
| (involuntarily) facial expressions are akin of smiling.[Which I
| believe I 'got' from my father, it's not that uncommon, something
| related to the need of oxygen] Tl;dr: Try it but don't rely on
| it, humans are one of the things AI won't beat nor understand
| nowhere near the future when it comes to inter-personal
| relations.
| bjt2n3904 wrote:
| All at once, it fills up my feed
|
| More bad news that I didn't need
|
| I can't stop reading but I wish that I didn't know
|
| Still too soon, there's not much to say
|
| They don't know, but talk anyway
|
| All of the pieces, and none of the places they go
|
| So I am looking at pictures of cats
|
| https://youtu.be/4JO-KRT0Vf0
| [deleted]
| air7 wrote:
| What would be the advantage of using Pushover vs using
| notifications from a website via the browser app?
| eh9 wrote:
| It's rumored that it might be supported soon, but iOS still
| doesn't support web notifications.
| duxup wrote:
| Sometimes I wonder if I might buy into The Matrix / Colossus: The
| Forbin Project / our AI overlords if I felt it actually cared
| about me / was whimsical enough ...
| beardedetim wrote:
| It sure feels like I'm eating steak...
| xiphias2 wrote:
| I was first thinking that the author has a real cat and uses a
| remotely controlled laser pointer...well, it may be version 2
| kevincox wrote:
| Just being aware of the expression on your face might be very
| interesting.
| butwhywhyoh wrote:
| Does anyone else find this mildly dystopian? I mean, it's a cool
| and really fun project, but it doesn't take much imagination to
| envision a service like this actually taking off.
|
| "We monitor your mood 24/7 and automatically send you 'happy
| thoughts' on demand! Contemplating your feelings? Why bother!
| Here's a cute cat video! Never feel uncomfortable, pensive, or
| existential again!"
| eurekin wrote:
| In a year, on a Show HN thread there will be a comment
| referencing this news entry as another "Dropbox" moment.
|
| Only half joking, wouldn't be surprised at all
| eurekin wrote:
| Oh, just got why: in western cultures it's considered
| dystopian, but I can imagine Japanese market being open to
| that (just like with robot dogs that are getting their own
| cemetery spots)
| bombcar wrote:
| I'd rather have it above-board and open than be part of some
| giant machine learning algorithm at Meta somewhere - "we want
| our customers to be a bit depressed but not too much or they
| stop spending ..."
| incanus77 wrote:
| I agree that this could absolutely be an awful service.
| However, if someone is just now hacking this for fun, then odds
| are someone else is already hacking it for profit.
|
| I'm always glad to see people experimenting with technology at
| a human level and writing about it. That feels like the best
| that we can do, as opposed to not writing about it or
| pretending that it doesn't exist.
| jermaustin1 wrote:
| An awful service, but an amazing concept for a novel.
| Otek wrote:
| There is already a product for employers that automatically
| monitors if and how long employee smiles while talking with
| customers (although masks probably slowed it down). Don't
| remember the name though.
| gruturo wrote:
| I would gladly accept the insane intrusion and surveillance if
| the service sent actual cats, as the headline led me to believe
| for a moment.
| [deleted]
| pseudolus wrote:
| The dystopia is already upon us. Facial recognition was
| apparently deployed in a school in China to track students'
| emotions and actions. [0].
|
| [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/china-school-facial-
| recognit...
| frogpelt wrote:
| China has been dystopian for decades.
|
| The real bummer is that even free countries are starting to
| embrace the same methodologies. When Australia, Canada and
| the US start heading toward the abyss of surveillance/lock-
| down states you know things are not looking good for the
| planet.
| beardedetim wrote:
| I really want a machine that monitors me and tells me "yo dude,
| you're Hella depressed. Don't take any of your thoughts too
| seriously" or "you're super happy. Don't make any big choices
| without asking your Wife about them".
| charcircuit wrote:
| Why is cheering people up dystopian?
| DoreenMichele wrote:
| It can be. It isn't necessarily, but it can be.
|
| Imagine a scenario in which you walk into an ER with a
| venomous demon chomping on your leg. The doctors give you
| pain killers and send you cat pics and a list of sitcoms to
| watch.
|
| No one does anything to solve the real problem that has you
| in agony and is threatening to kill you. They just make sure
| you _feel_ fine and that 's it.
|
| Now that you feel fine, the feedback loop is broken and you
| no longer realize you have a really dire problem that needs
| to be resolved or you will be maimed for life and/or soon
| dead. You _feel fine!_ though the demon continues to gnaw on
| your leg.
| z3c0 wrote:
| It's the premise of _Brave New World_. It tells of a society
| subjugated through genetic-engineering and hedonistic
| entertainment. I think a quick dose of happiness is pretty
| akin to "soma", a drug the characters use to avoid bad
| feelings.
| codeulike wrote:
| Well thats the point of the tweet that is quoted right at the
| start of the article
| DaemonAlchemist wrote:
| Bash Liif: https://youtu.be/1jTHBBkillM?t=85
| duxup wrote:
| It's a fun story, but yeah continuing the thought it is a
| little dark.
|
| But the truth is any dystopian future we create ... it's not
| Evil Google taking over, it's us accepting it happily in
| exchange for instant cat messaging and Marilyn Monroe bots.
| mox1 wrote:
| This was a scene in the movie Don't Look Up. A cellphone
| company CEO (a Zukerburg type character) introduces the 9.5
| update, which includes emotion sensors. When you are sad, it
| automatically shows you pictures of cats.
|
| So yes, I do.
|
| Edit: Here is the video -
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jTHBBkillM&t=96s
|
| (My bad it was the 14.3 update and dogs riding chickens)
| lasercat wrote:
| Another exploration of this theme was in an episode of Doctor
| Who (Smile) which features a colony with nanobots that are
| optimized for happiness, with disastrous results:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smile_(Doctor_Who) - "The Vardy
| were programmed to help construct and operate the colony and
| make the colonists happy, monitoring the emotional state of
| the colonists through the emotion badges and avatars. When
| one of the flight crew died of natural causes, it created
| grief among the crew, something the avatars were not
| programmed to register. The Vardy took this as a sign of
| disease and killed those who displayed unhappiness. This
| created a "grief tsunami" which rapidly wiped out the flight
| crew, and will likely wipe out the waking colonists when they
| discover what happened."
| VoodooJuJu wrote:
| This exact thing was a dystopian little vignette in the movie
| _Don 't Look Up_. Funny and scary that it's real now.
| reaperducer wrote:
| Would love to see a macOS program version of this from the people
| who did the Christmas lights for the M1 screen notch.
| hunterb123 wrote:
| Are people always smiling at the computer? My face rests with a
| frown.
|
| The more intent I'm thinking, the more likely I'm frowning, then
| CAT! Which is realistic at least.
|
| Inverse it and you can tell when you're probably not working, for
| task reminders, upcoming meetings.
| simlevesque wrote:
| Shoutout to the Human library and it's creator vladmandic. The
| library is growing fast.
| ivraatiems wrote:
| I solved this problem in a lower-tech way by simply configuring
| the area behind my workstation as a cat bed. Now, I can turn
| around and enjoy looking at my cat at any time, as she loves her
| bed and rarely leaves it. Stress eliminated!
|
| Yes, she is taking Series A funding in the form of wet food, if
| anyone is interested.
| alea_iacta_est wrote:
| reaperducer wrote:
| dcminter wrote:
| It's also stitching several interesting APIs together in an
| unusual and whimsical way. Better yet, the article itself is
| well written. If you've done something better with your day
| that then feel free to tell us about it.
| zem wrote:
| i've seen a fair number of HN posts with grown people sending
| spam (sorry, _marketing emails to improve your conversion
| funnel!!!!_ ) to other people and bragging about it on social
| media. i'll take sending cats to yourself any day.
| Animats wrote:
| That should go into one of the virtual girlfriend apps in Japan.
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(page generated 2022-02-22 23:00 UTC)