Today was n the middle of a Zoom meeting, and I needed to email a note to somebody about a follow-up meeting. Instead of typing the email into my computer, I picked up my phone and I dictated the email.
The other people on the Zoom meeting thought it was kind of amusing, just watching me talk to my phone like that. I had forgotten that not all of my colleagues do that.
One colleague pointed out that with her Israeli accent, it probably wouldn’t work on her iPhone. Which is rather unfair when you think about it.
People have told me that when I dictate into the phone, my tone of voice changes entirely. Instead of speaking in a friendly way, it’s as though I’m giving orders to an underling.
What is really happening is that I have gradually learned what manner of speaking will produce the fewest errors on the phone. But it is kind of interesting that this replicates an unequal working relationship.
Which makes sense, because people and computers are not equal. Let’s just hope that the inequality continues to be in the same direction.