january 13, 12:00pm, seen
MTurk options:
MTurk payment: $0.20
Number responses: 32
Avg time/task: 4:22
Avg MTurk interaction rating: 2.8
This guy is cute. Though not usually one to get super nervous around guys, the added preoccupation of getting the system up and running at the start of our time together makes me bumbling and awkward. I can see how nervous I may seem and it adds to my embarrassed lack of suaveness. Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem to pick up on this too much, or if he does, he lets it go in a casual, smooth way. The workers are not so forgiving, ‘The woman seems apprehensive, guarded and not terribly interested in the man. It could just be nerves but she appears to be uncomfortable. The amount of times she goes for her beverage shows me she’s nervous also.’ I am constantly surprised by how much they are able to perceive from a few minutes observation of a low fidelity video stream. It is almost as if because they are not physically present, they are able to observe more objectively and see the obvious that might go unnoticed by the participants wrapped up in the interaction.
One aspect of this project that is particularly interesting to me is the experience for the workers, it is sort of a performance for them in a way. On Wikipedia, the search for “artificial artificial intelligence” redirects to the page about Amazon Mechanical Turk. I am interested in this idea of these workers logging on expecting to do a series of very mechanical tasks that a computer would ideally do, but are instead confronted with the request for a very human reaction. Some of their responses are amazing.
‘But I imagine that even the most affective interactions leave those involved with distaste, weakened and hungry. I said “buying items” because I would want my character to have a history/a past… Not to say that she doesn’t, and in fact I find myself relating to both characters, but the problem of the actor is negligible when a theater-goer is asleep, or when we do not understand the accents, or when we understand each character independently.’
Many of the workers are very excited about the task, and leave their unsolicited emails and contact info asking that I send them updates as the project progresses. In some weird way, I’ve almost started to feel like they are my friends watching and helping me along on each date. They are the only ones that really know what I’m doing, they are my confidantes, my collaborators.
I get through the rest of the date with only minor stumbles as instructions sometimes clash with what I’m wanting to say and do.
| time | how does she appear to be feeling? | how does he appear to be feeling? | rating | action | explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12:12 | Sitting and looking at a laptop in a cafe somewhere, maybe waiting for a food order. | I do not see a man, only hear him in the background | 1 | other – Spit some hot rhymes | Everybody loves a little hiphop |
| 12:14 | She appears to be feeling suspicious, or hesitant. She is trying to be sneaky. | The man seems to be absent-minded. | 3 | question | She should find out more about the man before engaging with him in any serious way. |
| 12:14 | She appears to be feeling calm and content and she casually enjoys some coffee. | There was no man except for a random stranger walking by. | 3 | other – Walk around and show us more of the coffee shop | I want her to do more that sit and drink coffee so I can be entertained. |
| 12:15 | well she seems very stressed and could use some cheering up. she is very pretty | i dont see a man | 3 | smile | she should be happy |
| 12:20 | well she seems very stressed and could use some cheering up. she is very pretty. she seems slightly nervous about the man | he likes her so far. but hes not intersetd in your code | 3 | advance | date him |
| 12:21 | The woman appears to be feeling great to see this man she is talking to. | The man appears to be feeling excited about interacting with the female is talking to. | 4 | laugh | I would want her to laugh ,so she can get comfortable with me and relax. |
| 12:21 | Is most likely feeling awake, since appears to be drinking coffee. Seems mostly relaxed and engaged in a conversation. | I cannot see a man in this video feed. | 3 | laugh | Just to see her smile. |
| 12:21 | The Woman in the Webcam seems to be happy and typing away drinking something out of a cup. talking to the man in front of her | I cannot see the man in the frame he looks to be talking to the lady behind him or doing some work on the computer | 2 | laugh | I would like to see her laugh because laughing is a great emotion and makes the body feel good. |
| 12:25 | The woman appears apprehensive and a little nervous. | Feels conversation is pretty much going one sided. | 3 | side | Because she seems a little uncomfortable she needs to change subject or step away. |
| 12:26 | She seems to be somewhat nervous or uneasy, yet trying to be sociable. | He seems to be interested and engaged in the conversation. | 3 | question | If she wants to be perceived as interested, she should ask some questions. |
| 12:27 | She seems a bit nervous and almost seems to be avoiding eye contact with the camera. She also seems bored. | He seems to be leading the interaction without much interest in what she thinks. | 2 | side | I want her to talk about something she is passionate about! Show some emotion =] |
| 12:27 | I guess the women is trying the make the conversation with the man interesting. Also I think she is too bored. | The man is too much into talking. | 3 | side | Its better she changes the topic and make it more interesting. |
| 12:28 | The woman seems apprehensive, guarded and not terribly interested in the man. It could just be nerves but she appears to be uncomfortable. The amount of times she goes for her beverage shows me she’s nervous also. | The man appears to be very motivated and interested in the woman. He does most of the talking and sounds comfortable. | 2 | back | I chose \back off\” because it appears that’s what she’d done mentally even though she smiles some and carefully talks.” |
| 12:29 | I am not able to guess properly.She will be somewhat interested. | He will also be sad and can’t find a solution. | 3 | laugh | Laughing is the best medicine. |
| 12:29 | She seems very nervous and awkward, but appears to be willing to try to overcome that. | The man seems to be trying harder than she is to uphold the conversation, but appears to be relatively comfortable doing so. | 3 | side | She seems uncomfortable or bored at first- seems she might enjoy discussing something else. |
| 12:30 | Feeling proud | Feeling smart | 3 | smile | her smile is nice |
| 12:32 | she seems nervous and a little uncomfortable | confident and a little dominating | 2 | back | she wants to be left alone |
| 12:32 | Feeling proud | Feeling smart | 3 | smile | her smile is nice |
| 12:33 | The woman appears to be moderately happy. She is enjoying a conversation with a friend. | The man appears to be happy, although he can not be seen in the video. | 3 | smile | She should have a smile about the conversation at hand. She should seen happy with her interaction. |
| 12:33 | She appears to be happy. | He also appears to be happy | 4 | laugh | She seems happy. |
| 12:35 | the woemn seems find to me | he is ok also | 3 | agree | have more emotion |
| 12:40 | talk about how that turns you on, the whole refugee part. | he’s stumbling, talk about more refugees, women dig refugees. | 2 | other – talk about refugees | y no refugees? |
| 12:45 | It looks like she’s having fun on a date at a coffee shop. | The man just left, but he looked like he was enjoying talking to her. | 4 | advance | It would be fun to watch. |
| 12:59 | She seems a bit unsure of herself and is a bit uncomfortable about what she wants to do. | He seems understanding and interested in what she is saying and feeling. | 4 | laugh | She seems like she could use a bit more confidence in herself so she can execute her goals. She seems to have many but hasn’t really gone after them. A good laugh could lighten her up so she doesn’t put so much pressure on herself and do what she needs. |
| 13:03 | She seems happy and involved as well as very into what the guy is saying. She is very personable. | He seems very neative and stanoffish with the girl. Very nevous within the conversation an struggling to find words to say. | 2 | side | she seems to be trying to counter his arguments. It might be best if she just stepped off or changed the subject. |
| 13:03 | How many people are you? He gave me a picture of his family, but it wasn’t a gift, or I don’t think it was, and not that he was expected to, necessarily, but how can you say no to something like that? How could you not. Open toed shoes take me wherever bby <3 | I was told, it might have been you who told me this, that you didn’t know what you wanted to do, and I’ve been having the same dream every night ever since I decided I’d thank you twice. <3 How could you not She's wearing sandals and shoulder pads. And appears to be pregnant. ...No biggie, non-issue if you don't mind losing a tow or two. I know independent artists who have gotten ripped off. It's a compliment | 3 | other – buying items? | I’m not really an avid gamer and my internet connection is shoddy and so the conversation may still be going on but I can’t watch it on this computer? But I imagine that even the most affective interactions leave those involved with distaste, weakened and hungry. I said “buying items” because I would want my character to have a history/a past… Not to say that she doesn’t, and in fact I find myself relating to both characters, but the problem of the actor is negligible when a theater-goer is asleep, or when we do not understand the accents, or when we understand each character independently. Movie recommendation: Inception. P.S. If my internet connection improves my feedback might be concise and quip? Anyway this is a great idea thanks for sharing I wish my internet wasn’t so laggy! I will be checking periodically. Also, do you upload recordings of your streams? Thanks! ——@gmail.com |
| 13:05 | She seems to be giddy, like just laughing at whatever the guy says. (flirtatious) | He seems to be searching for conversation. | 3 | laugh | She seems to laugh at multiple things he says, even though its not funny. |
| 13:05 | Yeah she get’s uncomfortable that’s it. | The man get amazed when he saw her reaction. | 2 | smile | Because what ever she is reacting I think i would be smile that time. |
| 13:08 | she felt embarrassed but I think it is safe. | so I felt dazed but still manages to express feelings. | 3 | smile | it will help to feel less nervous or embarrassed |
| 13:10 | She appears calm and relaxed in her conversation. | He’s very calm and involved in his conversation. | 3 | advance | They seem into each other at least a little bit. I would want to see them ask eachother on a date or something. |
| 13:14 | She seems to be enthusiastic about her upcoming trip out of town. She is mostly out of the camera frame. She seems slightly reluctant to answering the man. | He is also mostly off screen, but he sounds upbeat and enjoying his conversation with the woman. He seems interested in what the woman says. | 2 | advance | The dialog seems very uninteresting to me, as a viewer. The audio is also terrible, and both the man and woman are out of the camera’s view so I feel like I’m looking at that picture on the wall listening to background noise. I chose advance to stir up some excitement.” |
| 13:17 | she is nervous | he is confidence, engage | 3 | question | the male keeping asking questions, she need to ask some thing back |