The Magician's Assistant
Kevin Tassini · Intelligent Environments (Workshops) · 2011
This is a science fiction story that describes a world in the not-too-distant future in which context aware technologies, ubiquitous computing, and persuasive technologies are virtually everywhere. This world is navigated by a character of the utmost average credentials who, because he has lived in this technology-saturated world his whole life, does not really notice how much he relies on it. Throughout his day he and his colleagues rely on digital personal assistants who have over time learned more ore less every intricacy of their user's behavior. These digital assistants manage their user's work and social life to maximum efficiency and have become absolutely necessary in everything they do, which raises the question—what happens when they are absent?