Jump to content

Names appearing in text prediction boxes


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

ive tried googling and gotten nowhere. I thought it might be an iOS 10 upgrade, but it's not suggested/discussed.

so...is it a thing that proper names and nicknames (including names from a place like crazyboards) appears in your text prediction box?  I've seen it happen and sometimes it makes sense (typing Da could yield David...not my name).  But other times it seems more random...and that's putting aside things like CB usernames which are restricted to a few.  Possibly ones I've typed frequently?  

Just curious if anyone knows the origin of this or can point me to an article on it.  Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have an article I can point to but I'm pretty sure it's some form of elfin magic. I'm joking of course, but I think a word (or a name) gets moved up in predictability depending on the amount of times you used it.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the giggle.

perhaps the elves can explain why widely differently spelled nicknames that are from completely different ends of the alphabet (and keyboard, so it's not like an autocorrect thing) end up as options at the same time. 

Ah, coincidence.  The best explanation for all things technological that I can't understand.

or is there actually an explanation for that one also?  Or is it more like a glitch like when the board posted something in triplicate one day?

Edited by dancesintherain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

16 hours ago, dancesintherain said:

I thought it might be an iOS 10 upgrade, but it's not suggested/discussed.

I don't know the answer to your question, but wondered if the iOS 10 upgrade had it, while before the upgrade it did not.  I didn't upgrade my computer, and from what I have now, I have never heard of a text prediction box.  Is it something that is new with the upgrade?

 

On a slight tangent  ... If you don't mind me asking, when you upgraded (I'm guessing because of Firefox?) to the iOS 10, did you have any problems with it?  I didn't upgrade mine because I was afraid of other things being messed up on what I have currently on my computer ... bookmarks, info on the desktop, etc.  So I was wondering if there were any differences when upgrading. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

By text prediction I mean the three words that appear above your on screen iPhone keyboard when you are typing.  I think it's possible to have it turned off, but I think the default is on. For example, my three words are currently "being, on, and not" after I typed the word currently.  I don't know if that helps at all.

i did the upgrade because my phone told me to...I don't have an apple computer.  I don't have any favorites saved, so I don't know if you would lose them or not.

Edited by dancesintherain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, dancesintherain said:

Though maybe that example explains why names from all across the alphabet and keyboard could end up on the same set of three.  Maybe.  It still just feels weird when I don't select something but it keeps reappearing.

I  don't know how the predictions work, but those quirks are spooky to me. I just turned predictions on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, dancesintherain said:

By text prediction I mean the three words that appear above your on screen iPhone keyboard when you are typing.  I think it's possible to have it turned off, but I think the default is on. For example, my three words are currently "being, on, and not" after I typed the word currently.  I don't know if that helps at all.

i did the upgrade because my phone told me to...I don't have an apple computer.  I don't have any favorites saved, so I don't know if you would lose them or not.

ohhhh ... ok, I'm sorry, I thought you had a MAC because recently to get firefox updated, I would have to upgrade to a higher system, but with doing that there is a chance it might mess with everything, or most stuff anyway.  So I was thinking you had updated because it because it sounds similar to what we have to do (or not). 

I don't have an iphone so I don't need to upgrade anything ... I'm sorry about that!  Thanks for answering!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

no worries melissa.

i'll be interested to hear what you get confused.

i'm looking for an explanation because it helps reduce the paranoia.  any time i can gather actual factual evidence that something is just working the way it is supposed to about something helps.

Edited by dancesintherain
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
On 11/23/2016 at 1:52 PM, dancesintherain said:

i'm looking for an explanation because it helps reduce the paranoia.  any time i can gather actual factual evidence that something is just working the way it is supposed to about something helps.

There's a combination of artificial intelligence, special algorithms in the code, and math that makes the predictive text happen. The software is learning how you use your phone or computer and can predict what you are typing based upon past keystrokes or common patterns. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Bostonian Aspergian said:

There's a combination of artificial intelligence, special algorithms in the code, and math that makes the predictive text happen. The software is learning how you use your phone or computer and can predict what you are typing based upon past keystrokes or common patterns. 

thanks.  it's all so bizarre to me.  Some are just strange for me.  Like there's a word that sprung up that has a relationship to a past version of my career, but not one I've had while on this phone.  It's an abbreviation, so it's not like it's likely to just come up as a word in common speak.  It's not something that I added into the dictionary, nor typed in an email, nor posted on a blog, etc.  All of that makes me think that it's a glitch, but it's come up 2-3 separate times.  So I don't get that, as an example.

That said, I do appreciate the explanation.  The whole AI meets algorithm meets math is a foreign language, so that's part of why I'm confused I'm sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Google Nexus phone, and when I first started using it, I was slightly creeped out by how many personal phrases it threw at me. I usually have to teach a phone how to "talk" like I do. 

However, the account I have with Google is the same personal account I've always had. My main personal gmail account is still the account I created when I got invited to the gmail beta about a thousand years ago, but the same would be true even if you've only had your main account for a year or less. That's still a lot of information for it to use to create an index of your behavior. Also, don't forget that it has access to whatever social media accounts you have it linked to, and can index your common phrases from those, too. 

Edited by Mim
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, dancesintherain said:

That said, I do appreciate the explanation.  The whole AI meets algorithm meets math is a foreign language, so that's part of why I'm confused I'm sure.

Computers that try to be smart actually aren't. They're as clever as the team of programmers writing the code for it. A classic example is the ELIZA computer program that mimics a therapist. However ELIZA is dumber than the therapist I had in 2012. That's because computers are not sophisticated enough to have the level of learning and insight people do. The predictive text has a set of instructions to follow based upon what you type, a formula to follow, and analyzing your e-mails and text messages. However it can be easily outsmarted because at the end of the day, it's a dumb machine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/23/2016 at 10:52 AM, dancesintherain said:

no worries melissa.

i'll be interested to hear what you get confused.

i'm looking for an explanation because it helps reduce the paranoia.  any time i can gather actual factual evidence that something is just working the way it is supposed to about something helps.

The autocorrect was too annoying. I didn't use it for long.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

Following up on this one...my new phone hasn't started doing the name thing yet (fortunately---I guess just not enough usage of anyone's names for the magical gremlins to predict them) but it starts randomly spitting out words when I'm typing.  Like it  spat out "you" after when and then I had to delete it to type "I'm."  It's not an autocorrect thing I don't think.

anyone know what that is called?  Is there some way to turn this thing off?  I'm tired of having words sprint up in my face.

And as a side note, sorry for my paranoia the first go around on this thread.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...