Editorial
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The AI Transformation 100: 100 Concrete Ideas for Fixing How We Work
Hopefully we're all a bit more polished on video calls than when "you're on mute" became a daily catchphrase in workplaces everywhere during COVID. Nonetheless, technical issues still foil even the most capable among us, leading to personal embarrassment and frustration for everyone else on the call.
A recent Cornell study explored the impact these glitches have, particularly on the hapless person on the receiving end of them. Interestingly, this adverse reaction isn't because the technical glitches cause us to question the competence of the person experiencing them. Instead, it's the sense of "uncanniness" that the glitches invoke.
Real Implications of Failed Video Calls
The research explored the impact of technical glitches on participants of video calls. The researchers looked at everything from recruitment calls to parole hearings, and consistently found that technical glitches harmed the person affected by them.
For instance, during recruitment calls, experiencing a technical glitch caused the recruiter to negatively assess the candidate. In parole hearings, things were even worse, as technical issues resulted in a 12% fall in the likelihood of someone being granted parole.
"The best feature of video calling is the fact that you basically feel like you’re together," the researchers wrote. "And so when there’s a glitch, you’re right in that danger zone where it’s almost perfect, but not quite — what has become known as the ‘uncanny valley.’ It triggers this switch in your brain where things feel just a little bit creepy."
Reliable Communication
The researchers conducted a number of experiments. For instance, in one, they tapped into the CANDOR (Conversation: A Naturalistic Dataset of Online Recordings) Corpus database of archived video calls. The database consists of a huge number of so-called "get-to-know-you" conversations that are designed to help us understand human conversations.
After each conversation, the two participants were asked to complete a survey that involved understanding the level of connection they felt they had with their conversation partner. The survey also questioned them on whether there were any technical issues during the call. The researchers themselves analyzed each call that featured a technical glitch to understand the nature of that glitch, and whether the glitch affected both parties or just a single person.
The results show that when conversations were affected by a technical issue, the result was a significantly lower level of social connection. What's more, this was true regardless of the kind of glitch and even if both parties experienced the glitch.
Why Video Meeting Glitches Shatter an Illusion
Why does this happen? The researchers argue that when we have a smooth video call, it creates the illusion that we're talking face-to-face with the other person. When there are technical glitches, the illusion is shattered, which then impacts the bond we form with the other person. It's an ick that's stubbornly hard to shift.
This phenomenon obviously has even more significant implications when parole hearings and other legal matters are conducted virtually. The researchers looked at the transcripts of virtual parole hearings in Kentucky that took place between January—April 2021 (ie, during COVID). The researchers created a "glitch dictionary" to chronicle the various forms of technical issues experienced during these calls.
What they found was around a third of parole hearings experienced some technical issues, with profound impact on parole decisions. The results show that while attendees in glitch-free calls were granted parole around 60% of the time, this fell to 48% when there were technical issues. While we may suggest correlation not equalling causation, the researchers endeavoured to control for the various characteristics of either offender or their crime, so they believe the technical glitches were a big factor.
Unintended Consequences
With digital communication so pervasive in the modern world, the results raise real concerns about just how fair this environment is, especially when inequality can mean sections of society have poorer quality equipment and internet connections to work with.
During the pandemic, organizations flocked to platforms like Zoom and Teams to keep the wheels turning, but did so without fully understanding the psychological effects of this new way of working. The uncanny valley effect triggered by technical glitches isn't just an annoyance; it fundamentally alters how we perceive and connect with others, often in ways that disadvantage the person experiencing the technical difficulty.
With virtual calls now pervasive in courtrooms, interview rooms, medical consultations and therapy, the impact of technical glitches can be significant.
The researchers suggest that organizations conducting high-stakes video calls should have protocols in place. For instance, they might reschedule when significant technical issues occur, or at a minimum, make participants aware that glitches may unconsciously bias their perceptions.
As video communication becomes increasingly embedded in our lives, understanding and mitigating these unintended consequences becomes not just important but essential to ensuring fairness and equity in our digital interactions.
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Editor's Note: Catch up on more online meeting topics:
- The Rise of Meetingslop — AI is turning bad meetings into worse ones, where bots, not people, fill calendars with noise instead of meaningful collaboration.
- What Happens When We First Meet People Online? — Turns out, your brain’s pretty good at first impressions — even on Zoom.
- The Double-Edged Sword of Using AI in Meetings — While AI can improve efficiency and inclusivity in meetings, it must be wielded responsibly. Some considerations to keep in mind.
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