AI systems, in practice · Team banter

A Slack bot for birthdaysand thumbs-down reactions

A Slack bot writes a reluctant birthday greeting, and steps into a thread to scold anyone who gives a teammate's message a thumbs down. It's dry and a little petty, and a team only turns it on if it wants it.

Why a team should like its tools

Most workplace tools get used because they have to be. Nobody looks forward to them. People keep using the ones they like, and a team that likes its system talks about it, reacts to it and tells you when something is off.

# team-chat

Mei 9:12 AM

The new pricing page goes live Friday. Could someone proofread it before then?

2 1

Banter bot replied in thread

Later, on Dana's birthday

Banter bot 8:30 AM

A thumbs down lands on a teammate's message, and the bot's reply types itself into the thread. Further down, the bot greets a birthday.

What the bot does

Birthday greetings.

On each person's birthday the bot posts a short, put-upon message in the team channel. It complains about having to be there, then wishes them a happy birthday anyway.

Replies to a thumbs down.

When someone reacts to a teammate's message with a negative emoji, the bot replies in that thread as a calm, fed-up parent.

What it will and won't say.

The threats are domestic and absurd: no dessert, no good headphones. It never goes after the person, their work or their job.

One reply per message.

Four thumbs down on one message get one scolding.

Why it's worth building

These touches cost almost nothing to run. They give people a reason to open Slack, react to things and mention the system out loud. That attention keeps the useful parts of a system in daily use.