I don't like strangers using my name. Police do that, debt collectors do that. Flight attendants and waiters should not do that.

I think it's an information asymmetry thing. I don't like it when people know more about me than the other way round, or at least don't like it when they make it obvious.

And specifically with birthdays. I'd be pretty annoyed if flight attendants started wishing me happy birthday, I hate it when people do that. I like to keep my birthday a private event. I barely tolerate work buying me a cake and singing happy birthday, and that's just because I get cake and everyone else in the office enjoys the whole thing.

I have seen this abused. A team member does whatever she thinks is best, and the rest now have to tag along because to communicate to all stakeholders that it was not a team decision and needs to be revisited is too costly.

That can be seen by some management as "getting things done". And quite often that person feels vindicated when her solution works.

But that person is not able to realize the cost of the mistrust of the team and detachment of the job nor to think about the possibility that the other solution not only have worked, but it will have been way better.

At my job, I have to arbitrate between team members and teams. I will flag anyone that decides to "ask for forgiveness instead of permission" and notify their manager. I don't like to work with people that think that they are so good that don't need to present their arguments like the rest.

So when going for forgiveness instead of permission, it is wise to think:

a) If your way is so good, you should be able to get what you want with arguments.

b) If you force everyone else to follow your way without their consent, you are not a leader you are just abusing the system.

c) That it works does not mean that was the best option.

d) That other people can also have done the same does not mean that they are worse than you, it may be that they see a bigger picture that you can't see.

It is still possible to go for it. But you need to be accountable for the consequences.

There's something a little sad about this. Unlike at home, hotels are a place where you already have a voice assistant - the concierge, that'll give you restaurant recommendations, pick up your laundry and call a cab for you. And do a much better job than any automated voice assistant will do. But I don't doubt for a second that this will eventually be paired with a strong rollback of real humans manning phone lines.

Sigh.

A few hotels already have tablets pointing cameras at the room (including a recent Marriott I stayed at). This just adds more crap I have to unplug or disable. Lovely.

I can't wait until we all find out these things have all been systematically rooted and collecting blackmail on folks.

It's one thing to trust Amazon or Google, but now you also have to trust the hotel and its staff, the physical security of the device, and all the previous guests of the room.