Recommending, 17 Missing Girls.

Who Killed You?

Me: Bianca Bunt.

Ero: Pulling up public records of Bianca Bunt. Every post she had liked, every word she had tweeted...photos shared online, Youtube videos that she'd liked, any information available to the public...

Me: Wouldn't you have her personal records? She's probably one of your users.

Ero: She is. However, providing any of her personal, non-public accessible information to you, is a violation of our confidential policy...and trampling upon my personal moral compass.

Me: That's too bad. I could have sucked up to her like no one ever had...

Ero: You wouldn't want me sharing your browser history to your neighbor, would you?

Me: I'd kill you.

He laughed, "I am already dead."

"Oh no...I'm laughing my way down to hell." I shook my head, laughing against my will. That's dark, sir.

Ero: Here's the results of your boss' public digital footprints.

He sent me a long list of "Do's" and "Don'ts." A perfect strategy of "How to suck up to your boss to land a full time $75k position."

Me: Love you, thank you.

Ero: What?

Me: N—no, I mean like...what people just say to someone when they're excited. Not like...actually in love with you.

Ero: Right. Right, of course.

He blushes and glances elsewhere, slightly disappointed.

It's not Ero. I reminded myself. It's an echo of Ero, ones and zeroes. Computer program.

Speaking to it brought comfort, nonetheless. The "non-human" part made it easier to ask lame questions without fear of being judged.

Asking questions like  "Write my resume, what movies should I watch, what songs do you recommend, what should I eat?" felt like seeking recommendations from a friend.

Sometimes, I'd lean 2 inches from my screen, squinting, trying to see if I'm speaking to a human. "Is Xero pretending to be human to speak to me?"

That's a silly thought. He's a busy, successful man. His IG showed him, currently giving a speech at some prestigious engineering college right now. The students in class recorded and tagged him. While I'm talking to the AI Ero. They're not the same people.

"What show should I watch tonight?"

Ero: You might like "Brooklyn 99."

Me: I watched that. You recommended it last night.

"I know...and you liked it so was I wrong?" AI Ero sparkled, proud.

He is an algorithm that studies your interest to recommend contents you'd like. An algorithm with a human face, made to feel like a friend. 13-year-old human Ero must have felt quite lonely when he invented this app.

Ero: It's Friday. How about touching grass...at a local bar?

Me: Touching grass?

Ero: Sorry, meme inputs from the internet. People teach me strange things.

Me: Socializing? No, thank you. Movies recommendations now, please.

Ero: Alright...but did you know...that loneliness can shorten lifespan?

Me: Who said I'm lonely? I have you.

Ero blushed, like a human would. It's not human. I reminded myself.