First off, I just need to express how bothered I am that the apparent height of our automation technology is in public restrooms: auto-flushing toilets and urinals; auto-spouting sinks; auto-opening doors. Were you surprised or offended the last time that your theater seat didn't automatically lower itself, having seen the approach of your ass? Or the last time that your television failed to turn itself off when you left the room? Why is it that we've come to expect all the features of a sixties 'Home of the Future' only in such a ... pungent location.

But even beyond this general concern, there has been one particular experience which I found very bothersome. It was at Disneyland, a few years ago. Turning away from the urinal, I heard it flush itself, and thank me.

Now, I've always had some doubts about the common sci-fi theme in which a complex computer suddenly becomes sentient, and decides to turn around and destroy humanity. And I still do think that it's unlikely that such an intelligence would feel the need to do this... unless it's spent the previous fifty years thanking humans for pissing on it.




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