Computers are not tools but treated as real persons. Two psychologists are looking at the processes underlying the very heart of interaction design: the relation of the user (i.e. we, the humans) and the computer. These machines talk to us (dialog boxes), they react and maybe even adapt to us, something our old brains interpret as truely personal, according the rule "when in doubt, treat it as human". Subconscious reactions apply before the user "wants to be in control". In order to avoid our software appearing as plainly impolite, these insights should be taken into account.
Byron Reeves, Clifford Nass: The Media Equation. How People Treat Computers, Television, and New Media Like Real People and Places. University of Chicago Press 2003 (CSLI 1996)