In this fast pace, get-it-done-yesterday world, many humans rely on the internet far more often than they should. Simply because the internet exists does not mean we need to adapt it to every aspect of our world.
When Marci Robin entered a Florida car dealership to buy a Fiat 500x, no one thought she’d leave with an existential crisis. According to Robin, while in the process of signing paperwork to purchase the car, she was presented with a simple question, strange as it was: was she a robot?
The question, born of the online CAPTCHA form, presents a single box, to be checked only if the human on the other side can confirm that they are, indeed, human. If you’re a human, or a robot crafty enough to bypass the CAPTCHA, a single click on “I’m not a robot” is all it takes to access sites that use it, or to enter information into online forms. It’s not, as you may realize, intended for use offline.
According to Robin, she was asked to check the box on the purchasing paperwork, even though she was in the dealership and surrounded by car salesman who, seemingly, could verify that she was human.
What you’re seeing here folks, is we in the business call “peak Florida.”
The O.K. Corral 