Video call glitches are costing people jobs and parole, study finds

Lagging Zoom calls aren't just annoying parts of the average work day. They may be irreparably changing our social interactions.

According to a new study published this week in Nature, audiovisual glitches can have far-reaching affects on users that extend beyond expected nuisances, but which have the power to fundamentally impact major areas of our life, including the outcome of a job interview, trust in medical professionals, and the result of legal proceedings. And for people who don't have reliable internet access, including digitally disconnected, rural, or low-income households, the impact may be even more severe.

Titled "Video-call glitches trigger uncanniness and harm consequential life outcomes," the study focused primarily on on-screen face-to-face video calls, rather than audio-only calls or conversations featuring screen sharing or visual aids. Researchers reviewed several scenarios, including a database of casual video social interactions, a scripted video sales pitch given to participants, and a health consultations. They found that frequent video lags reduced feelings of trust and willingness to engage, such as to take the advice of or reconsult with a health provider.

The reason is that a dropped internet connection or glitches that distort faces, misalign audio and visual feedback, or create choppiness "break the illusion of face-to-face contact" that is created while on a video call, researchers write. This evokes a feeling of uncanniness that reduces a sense of social connectedness and trust — like when you realize you're talking to an AI. This sense is commonly referred to as the "Uncanny Valley," where something looks almost human, but not quite.

"Glitches can be costly in these consequential, virtually held life events. That is, beyond just undermining trivial and fleeting moments of conversation, glitches have the potential to fundamentally alter the trajectory of individuals’ lives, from their health to job status and more," researchers found. "Because people participate in numerous personal and professional virtual interactions annually, even modest glitch-related disadvantages can compound over time into substantial cumulative effects."

The researchers also reviewed court data, and when combined with the above results, found that video glitches correlated with a lower likelihood of being granted parole. "Despite being considered a boon to access, virtual communication might unintentionally perpetuate inequality," write the study's authors. "Because disadvantaged groups often have poorer internet connections, they are likely to encounter more glitches, and, in turn, to experience worse outcomes in consequential contexts such as health, careers, justice and social connection."

The study suggests that the evolving political and technological landscape, which has shifted increasingly toward remote-only processes, consider the impact of reverting to in-person interactions in favor of video interfacing. And the study recognizes there may be an implicit bias in the design of remote systems that advantage certain groups over others.

It also argues for more research on how best to reduce the impact of the Uncanny Valley while video conferencing, with one possible intervention standing out among others: Cracking a joke or two.