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Misaligned

Journal and magazine on ethics in AI, technology, data and science.

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The Erasure of Interaction

AI Notetakers and the transition from human interaction to machine coordination

Ioannis Akingonte

24 min read·<br>Just now

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AI notetakers have become ubiquitous. They record the meetings, transcribe them. They extract decisions. In doing so, they transform note‑taking into the production of structured, searchable memory for the institution. They may seem like a trivial and usefule application of AI, yet they show how the erasure of interaction is underway.<br>Recurring appointment<br>Google Calendar reminds me that I have a meeting with the ERP consultant, a recurring appointment every Friday at 14:00 to discuss acute problems with the system’s implementation.<br>It is part of a larger company goal to migrate disparate data into the system, everything from stock unit governance, orders, transactions. My role was translating supply chain needs into the system, things like stock movement, inventory, manufacturing compliance data. As top management impatiently monitors progress, implementation faces resistance as daily operations collide with longer-term strategy. The objective and key result of creating a “single source of truth” resonates across the organization but the reality is harder to reconcile. On my table I face the exact tension as I rush to switch from time critical tasks to strategic ones. With three minutes to go, I turn to my Artificial Intelligence notetaker so that I can review last week’s meetings notes.<br>I was not successful. Just as I began reviewing the notes, a phone call came in: The production facility had been expecting a critical inbound shipment of raw materials for Monday morning’s production, but it had not arrived. At the same time, an outbound shipment of finished goods to our third-party logistics partners was delayed, blocking the space needed for the incoming materials. In short, the finished goods should have left yesterday to prevent stockouts on the sales channels and free up capacity for the raw materials that had to be unfailingly on‑site by the end of the day.<br>On the other end of the line is a frustrated production manager. Both issues risk a ripple effect across departments. The pressure to coordinate what seems like a straightforward flow of inbound and outbound goods reflects the reality of a business where demand is outpacing operational capacity. Nonetheless, the production manager remains accountable for ensuring that next week’s replenishments are ready and aligned with the forecasted output.<br>As supply chain manager, I ensure these movements happen, while also communicating constraints — or ideally solutions — to stakeholders who, if I succeeded, would never need to know there had been a problem at all. It’s the kind of firefighting that defines the messy world of goods movement when business is good.<br>The production manager was already preparing to extend into overtime on Friday to accommodate the delays. The truck’s ETA was now 16:00, not 11:00. Production had been secured, and with some extra effort, space for the incoming goods had been cleared. For the moment, the situation was contained. I could finally turn my attention back to the meeting. I was late, but stabilising the operational flow had been worth it.<br>Notetakers<br>Most meetings are now supported by AI notetakers, often with video. Internally, we rely on an official tool, but things become more interesting in meetings with external parties. Everyone arrives accompanied by their own AI assistant. I usually revisit recordings or search transcripts for key terms, especially when updating SOPs or recovering details from previous meetings. Pre-loading notes before a meeting helps keep discussions structured. These tools are particularly useful in onboarding, where new hires can stay present while relying on recordings to revisit workflows afterward. The benefits of documentation and efficiency seem obvious. AI notetakers were unavailable just yesterday, yet they are already woven into coordination flows. It feels like corporate evolution.<br>I had repeatedly joked with the ERP consultant about comparing which AI notetaker performed better, and behind every joke lies a truth. We never actually compared the two brands, which already shows how these tools produce more than we can consume, interpret, or articulate.They, along with other AI products, slowly displace human‑to‑human interaction, and this is what the article is about; a sideways extension of my earlier argument on the emergence of the beast.<br>The fear of AI is not the beginning of wisdom<br>Fears about AI dominate the news, and many people follow these developments with a sense of dread. From job displacement, misinformation, cyber security, topics abound depending on who is...