Autocorrect has been around for as long as the smartphone itself. It was initially developed by Ken Kocienda and his team at Apple for their operating system Project Purple, which would come to fruition as the first iPhone.
Said Kocienda, “It wasn’t easy to figure out how software might come to our rescue and how much our algorithms should be allowed to make suggestions or intervene to fix typing mistakes. I wrote the code for iPhone autocorrection based on an analysis of the words we type most commonly, the frequency of words relative to others, and the errors we’re most likely to make on a touchscreen keyboard.”
In other words, they knew typing with your thumbs was gonna end in a bunch of nonsense, and they tried to make a digital assistant to help you out.
But how well did it work? Let’s let Twitter decide.
15. All blown up
Ain’t it the truth.
My autocorrect just changed daughter to disaster and I’ve never been more paranoid that my smart phone could read my mind.
— Rhyming Mama (@sarabellab123) December 6, 2019
14. Captain Caps
Maybe it’s smarter than we give it credit for.
Did you know that:
Your phone won't auto correct if you are typing in all caps?
I guess it assumes you’re angry and does not want to get involved. 😂
— Bow 🏹 (@bowNarrow007) April 8, 2021
13. How the tables have turned
WOULD YOU JUST MAKE UP YOUR MIND!
The other day I actually was trying to type “ducking” and autocorrect changed it to “fucking,” so I’m fairly sure that at this point my phone is just tucking with me.
— Arianna Bradford (@thearibradford) May 8, 2020
12. Contractions and contradictions
What is so hard to understand about this?
No autocorrect, for the 100th time, I mean “well” not “we’ll”
— Lilly (@Lilly) August 29, 2018
11. Not a morning person
You get me. Dawn is death.
Autocorrect just changed 'morning' to 'morbid' and now life makes perfect sense
— Pugnado 🐾🌪 (@LuvPug) July 22, 2017
10. Eating my feelings
Come on, leave me alone.
Autocorrect changed dadbod to sadbod and to be honest that really hurt my feelings.
— WTFDAD (@daddydoubts) August 11, 2019
9. In the mix
Well that just sounds WAY more fun.
https://twitter.com/envydatropic/status/1339012714178469893
8. Carpe diem
It’s gonna be a great time.
https://twitter.com/UnFitz/status/993808887542435840
7. Good for thought
Robots don’t eat, that’s why they suck so bad.
I really don't understand auto correct sometimes. Why are you changing "food" to "good?" Is "food" not a word? We can't be friends.
— Lilly (@Lilly) August 11, 2017
6. Wine about it
Maybe it thought you meant “whine and die.”
I texted my wife "Tonight after the kids go down, let's wine and dine" except my phone changed it to "wine and die."
It's almost like auto-correct knows how hard it is to be a parent.
— A Bearer Of Dad News (@HomeWithPeanut) June 5, 2019
5. Spell it out
Why must you let me suffer when you know full well what I need?
I'd need help with a word and autocorrect will be like no I wanna watch this son of a bitch spell exacerbate first
— Dapperilla 🦍 (@theDapperilla) April 6, 2021
4. Word of the day
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
me: i am so fucked
autocorrect: feel like u meant to say "ducked"me: haoppy bjrghday
autocorrect: yeah that tracks— Jill Gutowitz (@jillboard) December 19, 2017
3. Soon and very soon
The suspense is killing me.
Tried to sign an email "soph" but it autocorrected to "soon" so now my whole email sounds like a threat.
— Sophia Benoit (@1followernodad) June 3, 2016
2. Dying slowly
Hey, it’s really the best we can hope for.
My phone changed “I’m doing well” to “I’m dying well” and now I’m worried autocorrect knows something about me I don’t.
— James Breakwell, Exploding Unicorn (@XplodingUnicorn) December 15, 2018
1. In your dreams
We all have ’em.
https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1367935625710563329
I think those are pretty ducking great.
Is autocorrect more helpful or hurtful?
Give us your opinion in the comments.
