It's March, and March is for slicing. Anyone is welcome to join us through Two Writing Teachers, slicing, sharing, and commenting on other slices!
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I have a complicated relationship with navigation systems. Google Maps has served me well over the years, guiding me out of the land of lost many times. I was never great at reading maps. While my husband can find himself in an unknown land, spin around several times and still navigate to the hotel we need to find, finding my way out of a barrel can post a challenge for me. Directionality is not my strength yet.
That being said, there are many routes I travel enough to know that the algorithms behind Google Maps or Waze or whatever system I might choose must sometimes debate the recommendation. Tonight as we drove home, the system was insistent about getting off the highway and winding through the city roads to go over the mountain and then home by way of a couple more side streets. Projected time of arrival home: 9:09.
"I don't want to go that way," I said to Garth.
Immersed in the basketball game he was streaming, he barely looked up. He didn't care.
"I'm not listening to you," I said to the automated voice.
I said it again as she directed me to get off at the next exit, projecting my arrival time to be 9:09.
"How am I supposed to trust this thing when she tells me one thing, I don't follow the direction, and I shave two minutes off the time?"
A low-key grunt from my passenger who was still immersed.
Take the next exit...
Nope, not doing it. I'm taking Exit 39 which is my preferred route home. The quickest way is the one you know, my father used to say back when he drove me around well before the invention of bossy navigation systems. Tonight I was that driver who questioned the authority of the automated voice.
As I blew by exit after exit that was suggested to me, my arrival time fluctuated, gaining a minute here and losing a minute there. What algorithm does the system use?
When I got off the highway, my projected arrival time was back at 9:09, the original time I'd faced way back when I first decided to ignore it, and I was much happier with my driving route. And, while who knows what time I would have made it home had I been more compliant, my actual arrival time home: 9:06. (I know you were all cheering for me to beat the predicted time!)
Sometimes questioning authority and taking the route you're pretty sure will turn okay might turn out even better. Sometimes it might be good to keep those relationships a little complicated. Not every authority figure is right every time.
All good things.
Melanie, you crack me up talking to your mapvoice -- - because I've been hoping I'm not the only one, and I always get a good chuckle after I've had words with the voice. I mean, she thinks she knows everything. We have to keep these voices in line and put them in their place from time to time - - the back seat! I'm glad you made it home with three minutes to spare and beat the system. I like your father's words. So, so true, this wisdom of our elders.
ReplyDeleteHa! This reminds me of Beth's AI post today. Sometimes, we need to trust technology, and sometimes, we think we know better! This is such a relatable story. I think everyone talks to (or yells at) Siri every now and then.
ReplyDeleteGoogle maps can be fickle. Always go with your gut - it is a tool, not a god. Heidi (Wordsmithing blog)
ReplyDeleteI was worried you were going to find a long line of traffic or an accident!
ReplyDeleteAhh... navigation. I have a love/hate relationship with it, too. Good for you for doing what you knew was right. That's what it's all about. When I follow my gut, good things happen. When I don't, disaster ensues. Here's to following your own navigation system!
ReplyDelete