On each of the last 3 days, I have received an award from my Health App: the Top of Mount Fuji Award, the Top of Qurnat as Sawda Award and the Length of the Suez Canal Award. My first reaction was a sense of gratitude and accomplishment that I had received awards. My second thought, without disrespect to the Lebanese, was what is Qurnat as Sawda and what benchmark for success does that represent? Meanwhile, to further complicate the picture, my Health App was complaining that I wasn’t getting enough sleep and my level of exercise had decayed to nearly nothing.
So why was I getting awards?
If awards are symbols that recognize and reward someone for outstanding performance, achievement, or service, then I feel I have failed on all counts.
If they are a way of showing appreciation, recognition, and gratitude, say for dedication and loyalty, then again I fail to see any of these characteristics in my recent behaviour.
However, as a form of motivation, there might be a rationale. Awards can help to create a positive environment, one that celebrates accomplishment, and encourages people to reach their goals and strive for excellence. Was that the nefarious motivation behind the App? Had it drawn upon its AI progenitor to apply its understanding of the human psyche to develop a stratagem for my success?
Maybe.
Yet it missed out on offering a meaningful award and it failed to fully explain the justification for its granting.
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