The joy of beating a bot

We all enjoy winning.

In the good old days, you wanted to beat your nearest competitor. Today, I get the same kick from beating a robot.

On most mornings I drop my kids off at kindergarten on my way to the office. While securing my rapidly maturing one-year-old into his recently acquired car seat, I was looking forward to starting the work week with a bang. I didn't have any urgent admin to do. I could give myself over to creative work I enjoyed. It was a blissful start to the morning.

Then I turned into the main road. The traffic was terrible, bumper-to bumper stuff. My fellow road users all had the same look on their faces, as if the same piece of code was executing on everyone's minds. The look was that of reluctant acceptance, boredom, and disappointment.

After dropping off the kids, I switched on Google Maps, hoping it would discover a route without traffic.

It didn't.

The route it picked was the fastest (according to Google), but my estimated travel time was still double what it normally was. I started booting up that same piece of code the other road users were running... then I got an epiphany. What if the GPS was wrong? Did it consider all the options? I was intrigued by the idea that I could beat the robot at its own game.

I decided to take a defiant turn into a small road. I knew that road well, and intuitively felt it would be a good choice. The GPS immediately recalculated to a much faster route, allowing me to reach work in the normal time. I was so chuffed with myself I couldn't stop smiling.

I learned three things. Firstly, children's car seats are expensive. Secondly, beating a robot is fun because you're allowed to gloat - there's no one you must be generous to. And finally, when you’re in your own backyard, choosing defiance over deference may be the best policy.