It’s as straightforward a name as they come. Plugged into your PC, the LOL Verifier will only let you type out the three letters if it detects an audible. And when it does, the three letters get accompanied by a green tick, alongside a verification timestamp. Otherwise, it replaces them with something else, and in the demo video shared on Twitter, the replacement is an equally dishonest “that’s funny”. Which is probably better than the misappropriation of internet lingo. Moore explains that the LOL Verifier uses machine learning to identify laughs, the training of which include “recording over a hundred laughs”. Moore’s video also implies that he did the recording of more than a hundred laughs himself, which is probably the furthest thing from funny one can imagine. As pointless an invention this is, the LOL Verifier is a vindictive desire for honesty made manifest. It may or may not be the creator’s intention, but I see this as taking a firm stand against the excessive evolution of language to the point of mutation. As someone who has seem people use the word “literally” to describe a metaphor, this device brings me a small amount of joy and hope into the bleakness that is social media.
— Brian Moore (@lanewinfield) January 3, 2023 Moore also ends his Twitter video with a hint that a LMAO verifier is next. Which seems redundant as LMAO is just LOL but exaggerated by one order of magnitude. (Source: Brian Moore / Twitter)
