More creepy technology: "Female" Airport Avatars

[MadrasT]

This Flirtatious NYC Airport Avatar Was Definitely Designed by a Dude

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has installed in Newark Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia airports an interactive avatar projected onto a plexiglass silhouette of a woman's body. Lost and disoriented travelers can ask her for help with things like getting to the correct gate, security checkpoint rules, and duty-free shopping.

And all of this is fine and dandy—and I'm not saying this is necessarily a bad thing—but why is she so goddamn flirtatious?

Even without her come hither facial expressions, the dialog alone is absurd:

"I'm so versatile, I could be used for just about anything."

Really? ANYthing?

More at link: Flirtateous NYC Airport Avatar

From the Yahoo article "New York City airports install new, expensive holograms to help you find your way":

How the new technology will pan out has yet to be seen, but we'll be the first to state the obvious — The Port Authority just paid $180,000 to rent three (somewhat creepy) fake humans when they could have paid half that to hire real people. Real people, who would presumably be better equipped to handle actual questions. But then again, real humans wouldn't exactly be the future, now, would they?

More at link: NYC airports install...

There's video at the links, too.

Ugh.

Just what I want to do when I am stranded/lost at JFK... try to make a stupid sexygirl computer understand my questions. (As if I am not already pissed off enough just being in JFK.)

[seabeyond]

1. geeezus fuckin christ.... argument we are not pornifying our women for male entertainment?

that is to the point of sex. here, visualizing me letting your do whatever you want....

no one thought this might be a bad idea, that women may not enjoy looking at this thing. or do they simply not care

and the answer would be. men no longer care because there are enough women to shrug their shoulders and say.... so what.

didnt get to the second article yet. do i really want to read it? lol

[seabeyond]

4. they are from paris. dsk, polinsky, where rape isnt reported and women wear wedding rings to reduce

sexual harassment and assault.

the land of open and free sexuality..... for the men. a nation greater in patriarchy than the u.s. probably ever was.

no fuckin wonder.

i hope every woman complains.

[Little Star]

2. WTH! This kinda stuff is in our face everywhere it seems....

Is this all we are? Or is this all they want us to be? Or is this what we want to be?

Ya know the older I get, this may sound silly, but I'm glad that I am slowly becoming invisible.

Anybody understand what I'm trying to say?

[MadrasT]

3. Oh I most certainly do.

I was telling my BF how I made a conscious decision years back to make myself as visually neutral and invisible as possible because I was so sick of it.

[seabeyond]

6. fuck that shit. didnt get past your "what we want to be? "

my sexuality is ALL about me. thank you. i find it works much better and i get much more out of it, that way.

[boston bean]

13. I'm not sure that was what was meant by the question sea. nt

[seabeyond]

14. oh.... lol. really? anyway, i knew she wasnt seriously asking

rheotorical i think you would call it.

answered anyway.

maybe i am off.

drinking afternoon coffee to make brain work again. what did she mean..... i will re read

[boston bean]

17. just sounded like she offended you and I hope that wasn't the case.

[seabeyond]

19. nah. never.

little star? she wouldnt know how.

i was going to hit reply, but then decided, not with me anyway. she is a tough woman. remembering some of her posts.

but, me....? nevah.

[boston bean]

20. I hear ya.

[seabeyond]

7. i wish. maybe with the yummy MILF, i am not there yet. oh man

you should see me giving the eye. fuck it. but, i am really not seeing it getting any less. thinking more. at the blatant audacity.

[Warpy]

9. I, too, am enjoying my woman over 50 invisibility cloak

It's restful, if nothing else.

I think this flirtatious female is going to be turning off a hell of a lot of women. I don't think any of us are going to be particularly amused by the flirtatiousness and we all know she's going to be a glorified phone tree without press "O" for a real live person.

It's like the Apple invention, Suri, who didn't know where any women's health services were but could point you to any Viagra dispensing pharmacy in the world. Geeks who come up with this stuff seem to think all women are invisible, under house arrest, living in purdah.

[Nay]

26. Amen, Little star. I'm 60, and damn glad to be out of the running when it comes to all those

men always having to give me the lookover. I got so effin' sick of it. I feel like I finally crawled out from under a load of sewage.

[seabeyond]

27. i really did not know there were other women that felt this way

i really thought i was just "enlightened" or something, one with my authentic self, . but noooooo, lol. sounding like as we get older (and it hit me oh, late 20's, but 30's was enough!) more women see and and recognize it for what it is. when we talk on GD too many women come in and say it is a compliment. then it gets confusing, but to hear the women in here speak out, it tells me something else.

[Little Star]

28. I know like many other women who were found to be..

attractive, that attractiveness was a burden.

For me, yeah, I may not have been beautiful but I could hold my own with the best of them. When I was young that felt kinda nice. But it didn't take long to fine out there would always be another more buxomly, more shapely, prettier hair, nicer clothes, etc. What the hell was I into some kind of friggin contest?

It was a horrible way to live, so I stopped giving a shit. I started caring more about who I was in my heart, mind and actions. Hell it took a while to learn this new way of thinking of myself and becoming more of that than the old shallow pretty shell life I had led. But I've come a long way baby!

And at age 65 now I am so grateful to finally be out of every aspect of the beauty competition just so men could like my looks. I still look and dress ok but I do that more so as not to embarrass my poor kids and grand kids, lol. Cause personally, I no longer give a shit for myself.

My husband liked me fine and I still get an occasional look-ie from others. It's nice I guess, but it matters not a wit in reality for me.

The more invisible I become, as each year passes, the more I like my life style and me. Life's sure funny, it ain't so bad getting older in some ways!

[seabeyond]

29. i like this post..... nt

[redqueen]

30. This really should be the subject of an OP.

I wonder how many of us have read Reviving Ophelia. Or seen Miss Representation. Both of these works, and many others I'm sure, document the harm done to girls as they enter adolescence in a society which tells them that their appearance belongs to the public. That it is their most important characteristic. We see the harm done to these girls and too many of us see it as inevitable, but it is within our power to change it. First, we have to make people aware.

It is bittersweet to me to see these stories of the rediscovery of the genuine self... the loss of that burden of being a member of The Sex Class, that is shared by so many.

It should not be this way. We deserve to live our entire lives as ourselves, for ourselves.

[seabeyond]

31. very well said. +1. nt

[Nay]

34. It should. So many things that have happened to us happened because our appearance "belongs

to the public." This is the most harmful, demeaning, ugly thing foisted upon girls before they even can know what's being done to them.

Remember the asshole men who took it upon themselves to tell you, a complete stranger on the street, to "smile"? As if your face was only around to decorate his fucking space? All just to be "friendly," of course. He didn't MEAN anything by it! Why are you so sensitive??

Arrgh, don't get me started. I could spew for hours.

[redqueen]

35. As could we all, sister... at least those of us who aren't numb to it.

I think I'll do that OP from home later on. It needs to be said.

[Little Star]

36. "We deserve to live our entire lives as ourselves, for ourselves." Bingo!

[Voice for Peace]

5. because people want more human interaction.. LOL

that's not really human interaction.

This product likely has a different target market than airports.

[MadrasT]

8. I know, right?

People want more human interaction... so their brilliant answer is a computerized human?

Fail.

Human simulator is not human.

Ugh.

[seabeyond]

10. ok, thinking about this and to be fair to all the men, too. my hubby would be standing, listening

and then say... really, must this shit be EVERYWHERE, just give me the info i want. shhheeesh. he has no patience for this stuff.

[MerryBlooms]

11. Oh brother.

Too ridiculous for words.

[seabeyond]

12. lmao.... lol. nt

[boston bean]

15. The money it costs them to rent these

they could have paid half that to hire human beings.

WOW, what a novel idea. Hiring living breathing human beings.

Not creepy holograms, that can do anything you want... YUCK.

I can see myself now, saying Repeat, What, Help, Customer Service, Customer Service. You know like on those stupid vm answering option thingies where you can never reach a live person.

[seabeyond]

16. i am thinking hittin 0 repeatedly hoping it will connect to a REAL person. nt

[boston bean]

18. I do that, and sometimes, they say

"that is not a valid option" and the call is disconnected.

Talk about pissing me off when that happens!

[seabeyond]

21. lmao... the ultimate insult. and they know what they are doing, too. nt

[boston bean]

22. Yeah, there aren't very nice words departing my lips that's for sure!

[MerryBlooms]

23. <they could have paid half that to hire human beings. >

Exactly.

I get the feeling we're being encouraged to become more anti social by the year.

[boston bean]

24. it's like the self check out lines

I won't use them out of principle.

If I do, I feel I am costing someone a job.

[BlueIris]

25. "I could be used for anything."

[Broderick]

33. So not true

Just saying. Sigh though on the whole thing.

[Broderick]

32. The key lines and words beyond the flirt

"advertise your products"

"promote your business"


Just another advertising gimmick and ploy. Why the port authority paid to let someone advertise their product is beyond me. Seems the company should be paying to advertise.

Sex sells I guess. Likely some "man" thought it wise to pay 180K in taxpayer monies to have these "things" there.

[Little Star]

37. .