Insights

In 1997, a small paperclip with googly eyes tried to help you write a letter. You hated him for it. Annoying, yes—but also prophetic. Clippy’s failure wasn’t wanting to help you write; it was not understanding what writing is. Two decades later, his descendants finally do—and that’s what makes them unsettling.

In 1997, a small paperclip with googly eyes tried to help you write a letter. You hated him for it. Annoying, yes—but also prophetic. Clippy’s failure wasn’t wanting to help you write; it was not understanding what writing is. Two decades later, his descendants finally do—and that’s what makes them unsettling.

In 1997, a small paperclip with googly eyes tried to help you write a letter. You hated him for it. Annoying, yes—but also prophetic. Clippy’s failure wasn’t wanting to help you write; it was not understanding what writing is. Two decades later, his descendants finally do—and that’s what makes them unsettling.