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That email seems very human and reasonable and it did its job perfectly. It warned the student of a potential outcome and the student was able to act on that wa

That email seems very human and reasonable and it did its job perfectly. It warned the student of a potential outcome and the student was able to act on that warning. The alternative of somebody moving in one day without warning would be the real fail case and that didn't happen.

khawkins 7y ago
I agree it was reasonable, but it was written such that it was very recognizable as a non-human automated system response. I'd make the case that the message should go even further to seem like a robot, because few empathise with mindless automatons. For the same reason, it's not clear that serious emotional damage occurred. It wasn't cruel or unsympathetic, it was a machine going through its motions. I think it was a simple oversight on behalf of system administrators.
ska 7y ago
There are multiple failure cases. It certainly could have been worse. On the other hand, it obviously could have been handled better. I suspect the only "right" way to handle things like this is by the automated system having certain pathways that require human interaction for edge cases. That way "student X dropped out" and "student Y died" can be treated differently without needing a workaround or complaint. If the system tracking dorm allocations notes a vacancy, it can also note "but I can't handle this one" and assign appropriately.
SilasX 7y ago
At risk of sounding like a jerk, I agree and think this whole reaction is overblown. A vacancy has been opened up. That will trigger numerous consequences across the system. Yes, every time you observe such consequences, you will be reminded of its cause -- the roommate's death. But it's unrealistic to expect every other subsystem not to do anything that reminds you of that death, which, as far as I can tell, is the extent of this email's "wrongdoing". "Woe is me, how dare you, the housing system, refer to my roommate's death as just another vacancy." Come on, now.
- HarryHirsch 7y ago
  It wasn't me, it's the computer that did it, that excuse is as old as dirt. There is that version of the Monty Python "Dead Bishops" skit, where the murderer says "It was me, but society is at fault." Consequently the Church Policeman asks all the other people present: "Excuse me, are you a member of society?" - "Yes." - "Come with me, then."
  - SilasX 7y ago
    But the "it" here is "tell you the consequences of the vacancy". The "wrongdoing" is reminding the author of the roommate's death (which is out of the control of anyone who communicates to him about the vacancy). A human would do the exact same thing (to the extent of telling you about that), so nothing is being excused by virtue of the computer doing it.
    - HarryHirsch 7y ago
      The problem is with the wording. The "Friendly Campus System" "detected a vacancy". In the face of a sudden, unprepared death you offer condolences and give the bereaved person the customary 30 days. The email from the blogpost is completely inappropiate. Mortality in college students is something around 15 in 100000, a campus of 10000 can expect a student death per year. It's surprising that there were no processes in place to act appropiately in that situation.
      - hrktb 7y ago
        Isn’t that “solved” by the friend going to the administration and discussing the issue with a human to have the situation properly handled ? I feel it’s like blaming your roomba for running over your graduation certificate when it could have recognized it and paid due respect. Automated systems are a thing now, and the mail was explicitely signed as coming from automation, with a neutral and polite enough language. We should accept it as it is IMHO.
        7y ago
paiute 7y ago
Perhaps the "Go Lions!" valediction is insensitive, but that's all.
domador 7y ago
I disagree. Both the email and the alternative you mentioned sound callously insensitive to me. The school should not let either of these situations take place. This notice and the handling of the housing situation should have gone to a properly-trained school administrator handle with sensitivity.
NikolaeVarius 7y ago
I agree. This is a perfectly appropriate notification. Its impossible to design systems to be beholden to everyones feelings.
- Animats 7y ago
  Yes. Now a bad response would have been: "A vacancy has been detected. As you are now a single person occupying a double room, you will now be billed at the higher single-occupancy rate for a double. Payment must be made by the end of the month."
nicholassmith 7y ago
> That email seems very human Does it? If a human composed and made the decision to send an email to a student who's roommate had recently taken their own life and said "we've detected a vacancy" there would be some serious questions asked around their emotional capacity.
- st1ck 7y ago
  Where did you get the bit about suicide? I was rather frustrated that author didn't bother to explain the cause of death.
  - nicholassmith 7y ago
    Delayed, it was my takeaway from unfortunately having read far too many announcements in similar language. I could be entirely wrong, it might have been a sudden health condition.
khendron 7y ago
I don't think it is the existence of the email but rather the wording of it that is at fault. The email was cold, soulless, and underscored the fact that "the system" viewed the residents as inventory, not people. I am reminded of the automated email I received from my company's HR software, just prior to my summer intern going back to school. The email asked if I had run through the checklist for the pending "termination" of my "resource". I went to the HR director and was like "WTF, can't we inject a little humanity into Human Resources?" She just shrugged it off, saying the emails were built into the system.
lostcolony 7y ago
How about the alternative of alerting a person, who can then inquire as to why the vacancy? Or even, given that the person was expected to come back (it was Christmas break that they passed), the system allow for _why_ the person will not be coming back, and an option as to whether to seek to fill the vacancy, or keep it empty? But that's neither here nor there either. This isn't necessarily about "what could the system have done better in this situation". It's highlighting that software ultimately leads to inhuman interactions; no person would have come in and said that. In fact, no person would know about the vacancy, without also knowing the reason for it (without either a system, which again highlights the problem, or another person, who would have explained the circumstances, being the one to deliver that information to them). And that's something we can work to improve, even if we can't address every possible instance.

khawkins 7y ago

I agree it was reasonable, but it was written such that it was very recognizable as a non-human automated system response. I'd make the case that the message should go even further to seem like a robot, because few empathise with mindless automatons. For the same reason, it's not clear that serious emotional damage occurred. It wasn't cruel or unsympathetic, it was a machine going through its motions. I think it was a simple oversight on behalf of system administrators.

ska 7y ago

There are multiple failure cases. It certainly could have been worse. On the other hand, it obviously could have been handled better. I suspect the only "right" way to handle things like this is by the automated system having certain pathways that require human interaction for edge cases. That way "student X dropped out" and "student Y died" can be treated differently without needing a workaround or complaint. If the system tracking dorm allocations notes a vacancy, it can also note "but I can't handle this one" and assign appropriately.

SilasX 7y ago

At risk of sounding like a jerk, I agree and think this whole reaction is overblown. A vacancy has been opened up. That will trigger numerous consequences across the system. Yes, every time you observe such consequences, you will be reminded of its cause -- the roommate's death. But it's unrealistic to expect every other subsystem not to do anything that reminds you of that death, which, as far as I can tell, is the extent of this email's "wrongdoing". "Woe is me, how dare you, the housing system, refer to my roommate's death as just another vacancy." Come on, now.

HarryHirsch 7y ago
It wasn't me, it's the computer that did it, that excuse is as old as dirt. There is that version of the Monty Python "Dead Bishops" skit, where the murderer says "It was me, but society is at fault." Consequently the Church Policeman asks all the other people present: "Excuse me, are you a member of society?" - "Yes." - "Come with me, then."
- SilasX 7y ago
  But the "it" here is "tell you the consequences of the vacancy". The "wrongdoing" is reminding the author of the roommate's death (which is out of the control of anyone who communicates to him about the vacancy). A human would do the exact same thing (to the extent of telling you about that), so nothing is being excused by virtue of the computer doing it.
  - HarryHirsch 7y ago
    The problem is with the wording. The "Friendly Campus System" "detected a vacancy". In the face of a sudden, unprepared death you offer condolences and give the bereaved person the customary 30 days. The email from the blogpost is completely inappropiate. Mortality in college students is something around 15 in 100000, a campus of 10000 can expect a student death per year. It's surprising that there were no processes in place to act appropiately in that situation.
    - hrktb 7y ago
      Isn’t that “solved” by the friend going to the administration and discussing the issue with a human to have the situation properly handled ? I feel it’s like blaming your roomba for running over your graduation certificate when it could have recognized it and paid due respect. Automated systems are a thing now, and the mail was explicitely signed as coming from automation, with a neutral and polite enough language. We should accept it as it is IMHO.
      - 7y ago

paiute 7y ago

Perhaps the "Go Lions!" valediction is insensitive, but that's all.

domador 7y ago

I disagree. Both the email and the alternative you mentioned sound callously insensitive to me. The school should not let either of these situations take place. This notice and the handling of the housing situation should have gone to a properly-trained school administrator handle with sensitivity.

NikolaeVarius 7y ago

I agree. This is a perfectly appropriate notification. Its impossible to design systems to be beholden to everyones feelings.

Animats 7y ago
Yes. Now a bad response would have been: "A vacancy has been detected. As you are now a single person occupying a double room, you will now be billed at the higher single-occupancy rate for a double. Payment must be made by the end of the month."

nicholassmith 7y ago

> That email seems very human Does it? If a human composed and made the decision to send an email to a student who's roommate had recently taken their own life and said "we've detected a vacancy" there would be some serious questions asked around their emotional capacity.

st1ck 7y ago
Where did you get the bit about suicide? I was rather frustrated that author didn't bother to explain the cause of death.
- nicholassmith 7y ago
  Delayed, it was my takeaway from unfortunately having read far too many announcements in similar language. I could be entirely wrong, it might have been a sudden health condition.

khendron 7y ago

I don't think it is the existence of the email but rather the wording of it that is at fault. The email was cold, soulless, and underscored the fact that "the system" viewed the residents as inventory, not people. I am reminded of the automated email I received from my company's HR software, just prior to my summer intern going back to school. The email asked if I had run through the checklist for the pending "termination" of my "resource". I went to the HR director and was like "WTF, can't we inject a little humanity into Human Resources?" She just shrugged it off, saying the emails were built into the system.

lostcolony 7y ago

How about the alternative of alerting a person, who can then inquire as to why the vacancy? Or even, given that the person was expected to come back (it was Christmas break that they passed), the system allow for _why_ the person will not be coming back, and an option as to whether to seek to fill the vacancy, or keep it empty? But that's neither here nor there either. This isn't necessarily about "what could the system have done better in this situation". It's highlighting that software ultimately leads to inhuman interactions; no person would have come in and said that. In fact, no person would know about the vacancy, without also knowing the reason for it (without either a system, which again highlights the problem, or another person, who would have explained the circumstances, being the one to deliver that information to them). And that's something we can work to improve, even if we can't address every possible instance.