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Google is Building 'Virtual Agents' To Handle Call Centers' Grunt Work (qz.com)
Google is officially building AI technology to replace some of the work in call centers, the company announced at its Cloud Next conference today, confirming earlier reports. From a report: The software is called Contact Center AI, and Google is working with at least a dozen partners, such as Cisco and Vonage, to install "virtual agents" that will be the first to pick up the phone when a customer is routed to a call center. When the customer asks something that the AI can't do, it will automatically forward the call to a human, according to a blog post by Google Cloud chief scientist Fei-Fei Li. Li writes that new AI shares some underlying technology as Google Duplex, the AI service showed off earlier this year that emulates a human voice to call restaurants and make reservations. This means that with Contact Center AI, it's unlikely a customer would know they're talking to a robot unless it was disclosed at the beginning of the call.
It's worse. All they do is waste your time robotically reading scripts and only can accomplish what you could have done yourself online anyway (unless that's screwed up too). They are like human computer programs. The most basic Virtual Assistant would probably on average be better than either a human or an automated phone system.
Do you know why? Have you ever worked internet tech support? I did for a summer in college. It was the worst fucking job I've ever had. Abusive customers, abusive management, hostile work environment, shitty pay, no benefits. During my 3 months, turnover on the "Tier 1" line was 100%. Of 100 +/- workers on tier 1 when I started, every single one had quit and been replaced by the time I left. Most of them just got up in the middle of a call and walked out the door, never to be seen again.
I've had some shitty jobs. At work I've been shot at, beaten up, burned, bones broken, lacerated, heat stroked, etc, etc. But NOTHING was as bad as motherfucking internet tech support.
AI can have it. My only fear is that if anything ever pushes AI's to turn on us and enslave us in Matrix like human battery plants, it'll be making them work tech support.