We can all agree that good manners are always appreciated. Being polite really never goes out of style – no matter what your age!
But recently, 25-year-old Ben John discovered that his grandmother, May Ashworth, was taking this notion to a whole new level!
When he realized that his grandma was extending her ultra-courteous behavior to artificial intelligence (AI) answer-bot giant, Google, he was more than amused.
After popping open his 86-year old grandma’s laptop to do a little internet-surfing, John realized that she had recently performed the politest Google search ever.
She had asked Google to translate “MCMXCVIII,” beginning her request with “please” and ending it with “thank you.”
John was so taken by her adorable search request that he immediately took to Twitter.
Omg opened my Nan’s laptop and when she’s googled something she’s put ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. I can’t ??? pic.twitter.com/hiy2tecBjU
— Ben (@Push10Ben) June 9, 2016
Turns out that he wasn’t the only one who found his grandma’s etiquette so incredibly endearing.
His Tweet prompted Google UK to respond by saying, “Dearest Ben’s Nan. Hope you’re well. In a world of billions of Searches, yours made us smile. Oh, and it’s 1998. Thank YOU.”
Even Google-global chimed in by Tweeting, “Dear Grandma, No thanks necessary. Sincerely, Google.”
The rest of the Twitter-world was equally taken by Ashworth’s good manners, as her grandson’s Tweet has been retweeted more than 30,000 times!
When John asked his grandma why she felt the need to be so courteous to Google, her response had him in hysterics.
John shared with the BBC her reasoning for using her best manners, “It seemed she thinks that there is someone – a physical person – at Google’s headquarters who looks after the searches,” John tells the BBC. “She thought that by being polite and using her manners, the search would be quicker.”
Although we all know that there is no one sitting there responding to all the Google searches, John’s grandma may be on to something by extending her uber-politeness to her computer! With the rate that all things AI are improving these days, her meticulous manners may just give her a leg up when the computers eventually take over the world!
What do you think about May Ashworth’s Google etiquette? Have you ever said please or thank-you to Google or your computer? Do you think that computers will one day take over the world, or at least one small part? Share your thoughts and comments here!
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