All these cutesy copy strings and celebratory features create a false intimacy between us and the products we use. We’re not actually friends with our digital products, no matter how great their personalities might seem at first. Real friends don’t create metrics to gauge whether people think they care. They don’t try to tell you jokes when you’re in the middle of a crisis. They don’t force you to relive trauma, or write off hate speech, or any of the things tech products routinely do in the name of engagement. They simply care. Tech companies, on the other hand, use “personality” to
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