Matt Lucas and David Walliams
3 HN mentions · mentioned in 3 months, 2024–2025
1:38 · 961K views · Oct 7, 2022
The Little Britain sketch in which call-center worker Carol types into her computer and replies 'computer says no' to every request.
HN uses it as a joke reference to automated systems and bureaucratic refusals.
3 comments from Hacker News
It's sad the comments here bashing this haven't understood the regulation, or haven't even read it and are just slamming it because in their mind EU REGULATION=BAD, AI=GOOD INNOVATION. EU AI regulation isn't there to stop AI innovation, it's only there to restrict where and when AI can be used on decisions that affect people. For example, you can't deny someone healthcare, a bank account, a rental, unemployment payments, or a job, just because "computer says NO" [1]. I don't understand how people can be against this kind of regulation, especially knowing how biased and discriminatory AI can be made to be while also being a convenient scapegoat for poor policies implemented by lazy people in charge: "you see your honor it wasn't our policies and implementation that were discriminatory and ruined lives, it was the AI's fault, not ours" . [1] this video
"Computer says no" this video See also [LINK] and the legal response to the real-world problem, the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing : GDPR Article 22 ( [LINK] )
For those unfamiliar with the reference: [LINK] this video For niche, zany sketch comedy, Little Britain is a gem.