Autocorrect and autocomplete are two tools that are meant to be extremely helpful, but can sometimes end up doing more damage then good. When it comes to my text messages, I appreciate that autocorrect catches my spelling errors. Texting is an informal medium for communicating so if a word is misspelled it’s not a huge deal. Or, and this happens a lot, autocorrect will change a word to what it thinks it should be, and changes a word that i purposely meant to say to something completely different. Again- luckily texting is informal enough that this does not become a big issue.

However, it does become a big issue in a tool like a word processor, where autocorrect usually does more damage then good. As an art history major, I have to write papers that typically run between seven and twelve pages. In these papers I often use specific terminology that is not part of the word processor’s vocabulary. For example, the word sfumado (Italian in origin) is a term used to describe one of the four canonical painting modes of the Renaissance. Microsoft Word does not recognize sfumado, but instead suggests that the closest word to it is ‘fumed.’

My point is that autocorrect and autocomplete can be very useful tools. The number of times that the tools have helped me in my writing far out weigh the times that it has caused errors. But it is important to use the tools carefully and to always proofread while using them.