This is going to lead us down a road where "driverless agents" will become a liability... maybe even illegal. In so much as it could lead to a future of work that looks like George Jetson's button pressing, I would far prefer that to the myriad grim alternatives.
i sometimes open a text and then close it and a week later i remember i forgot to respond. so i guess what i'm saying is: it happens. they were probably busy with other things and lost track of time.