computer says no
phraseEtymology From the British sketch comedy series Little Britain (2004), where it was the catchphrase of the character Carol Beer, a bank worker and later holiday rep and hospital receptionist, who dealt with customer enquiries by typing them into her computer and responding with computer says no.
1
Humorous Alluding to an attitude where decisions are based solely on the output of a computer system, apparently without using common sense and without any desire to help, especially in customer or public service.
- The immigration minister has said she wants to change the “computer says no” culture of the Home Office, after being confronted with evidence that up to 1,000 highly skilled immigrants face being deported for minor errors on their tax forms.2018 May 8, Heather Stewart, “Immigration minister wants to end 'computer says no' culture at Home Office”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Related terms
- jobsworth, officialism, Kafkaesque, automation bias