4 ms·

Video surveillance is not the solution to this problem. It's outright creepy. I think a simple chat group or a game can better serve the purpose of providing a

Video surveillance is not the solution to this problem. It's outright creepy. I think a simple chat group or a game can better serve the purpose of providing a virtual "office environment". I think highfidelity is working on something along those lines, but you can already use an opensimulator/secondlife space as realtime hangout place. I'm also critical of their "behavioral triggers". For example, "Pre-commitment" has more often be found to have the reverse effect: when you tell people what you will do, you end up not doing it. And social pressure is hit or miss. (Their generic list of neurotransmitters is also suspect). I see a future in this but with a different structure: paid behavioral coaches that teach you how to be more disciplined. That would be a valuable service, because right now remote work is not for everyone for the reason that they 're not disciplined. That's something malleable

froh42 7y ago
That might be true for you. For me just that - sharing a workspace over video - sounds great, as I've got the most problems with "emotionally challenging" tasks. (Like doing those things piling up for some time now). In the past for some things that are hard to do I asked a friend to come over to my place and/or having them on the phone for some time. So I'd not feel that as "video surveillance" but rather human company. (For video surveillance alone you wouldn't need a partner, it'd expect it is not to difficult to train an AI to detect whether you're working or slacking locally from video capture and desktop screenshots plus use a virtual call center of "central scrutinizers" to oversee the AI). (Update: OH SHIT THAT ALREADY EXISITS: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2119734-ai-tracks-your-every-move-and-tells-your-boss-if-youre-slacking/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2119734-ai-tracks-your-...)
- buboard 7y ago
  i just find the surveillance part different than in-person: in person you know when you 're being watched or not, and being watched constantly is exhausting. I do like the AI idea, especially when it's client-side or not-very-invasive, as it gives you an incentive to not slack
taylorjacobson 7y ago
Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? The experience on Focusmate is akin to working with a buddy at a library or cafe. As far as pre-commitment: I think you've got your behavioral triggers mixed up. Wikipedia has a good definition: "Precommitment refers to a strategy that an agent may use to restrict the number of choices available to him or her at a future time. The strategy may also involve the imposition of obstacles or additional costs to certain courses of action in advance." I think you're thinking about telling someone what you'll do. That works when you tell someone what action you plan to take. It backfires when you share what result you'll get, because your brain visualizes some of the result, and experiences the reward prematurely.
- buboard 7y ago
  > Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? The security camera guy of the shop is surveillance. Being in a public space, knowing who is looking at you (let alone, he is being seen by others as looking at you), is not the same thing. Maybe precommitment is not what i had in mind but but you do mention explicitly "implementation intentions" as "what to do and how you will do it" which may not be an optimal thing to do. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/200905/if-you-want-succeed-don-t-tell-anyone https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/200...
- ottoflux 7y ago
  > Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? Also, not even close. You notice when a creep is staring at you nonstop in person. Let me redirect you to the dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveillance https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveillance
agumonkey 7y ago
MOOCs + IRC (or any live chat) rooms was a nice pleasure for me. You get small chunks of stress, motivation through tests, sharing of frustration and ideas through chat.

froh42 7y ago

That might be true for you. For me just that - sharing a workspace over video - sounds great, as I've got the most problems with "emotionally challenging" tasks. (Like doing those things piling up for some time now). In the past for some things that are hard to do I asked a friend to come over to my place and/or having them on the phone for some time. So I'd not feel that as "video surveillance" but rather human company. (For video surveillance alone you wouldn't need a partner, it'd expect it is not to difficult to train an AI to detect whether you're working or slacking locally from video capture and desktop screenshots plus use a virtual call center of "central scrutinizers" to oversee the AI). (Update: OH SHIT THAT ALREADY EXISITS: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2119734-ai-tracks-your-every-move-and-tells-your-boss-if-youre-slacking/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2119734-ai-tracks-your-...)

buboard 7y ago
i just find the surveillance part different than in-person: in person you know when you 're being watched or not, and being watched constantly is exhausting. I do like the AI idea, especially when it's client-side or not-very-invasive, as it gives you an incentive to not slack

taylorjacobson 7y ago

Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? The experience on Focusmate is akin to working with a buddy at a library or cafe. As far as pre-commitment: I think you've got your behavioral triggers mixed up. Wikipedia has a good definition: "Precommitment refers to a strategy that an agent may use to restrict the number of choices available to him or her at a future time. The strategy may also involve the imposition of obstacles or additional costs to certain courses of action in advance." I think you're thinking about telling someone what you'll do. That works when you tell someone what action you plan to take. It backfires when you share what result you'll get, because your brain visualizes some of the result, and experiences the reward prematurely.

buboard 7y ago
> Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? The security camera guy of the shop is surveillance. Being in a public space, knowing who is looking at you (let alone, he is being seen by others as looking at you), is not the same thing. Maybe precommitment is not what i had in mind but but you do mention explicitly "implementation intentions" as "what to do and how you will do it" which may not be an optimal thing to do. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/200905/if-you-want-succeed-don-t-tell-anyone https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/200...
ottoflux 7y ago
> Is working at a coffee shop "surveillance"? Also, not even close. You notice when a creep is staring at you nonstop in person. Let me redirect you to the dictionary: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveillance https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveillance

agumonkey 7y ago

MOOCs + IRC (or any live chat) rooms was a nice pleasure for me. You get small chunks of stress, motivation through tests, sharing of frustration and ideas through chat.