Whether it's predictive text, Spellcheck or Google Translate, the suggestions our artificially intelligent friends give us can, from time to time, give us an inadvertent laugh.
The tool I use to make transcribing easier, TV Eyes, came up with a belter tonight when it tried to catch the name 'Dominic Casciani'.
(I was seeking a transcript of BBC One's evening news bulletin at the time, as you do).
As regular BBC watchers will know, Dominic is one of the BBC's home affairs correspondents. He's featured in 14 of our posts so far (and counting), mostly for crimes against impartiality.
Well, good old TV Eyes got his name right first time round but blundered later:
Dominic, thank you. Dominic Oceania.
For those who love a good Orwell joke, having a BBC reporter with a track record of 'massaging the facts' to make them as BBC-palatable as possible re-named 'Dominic Oceania' will seem as fitting as it is amusing.
And it is amusing, so you'd better laugh! And don't forget to love Big Brother while you're laughing (or else)!
Sadly, Orwell appears to have been a time traveller not a mere prophet...except he must have clacked the keys the wrong way when he typed 1984...2048 would seem perfect. We certainly see a number of blocs China - USA - EU - Russia locked in mortal combat.
ReplyDeleteYes I love Big Brother! I love the licence fee!
Just remembered, Big Brother was his joke on the BB-C wasn't it?
I'm with Orwell - permanent awkwardness, eternal abrasion and a proud refusal to bow the head.