Is there such a thing as a good bot?

Written by Tim McLarty

May 19, 2016

Yesterday I took part in a webinar from Centro. Part of the discussion talked about “good bots”…technology robots that aim to please.  I’m not sure a robot exists that will ever take the place of human interaction; especially after 4 minutes of cat and mouse with one of those audio multiple choice conversations with the bank.  It’s extremely frustrating speaking slowly and clearly so the bot understands your question.  But when your request doesn’t fit into the choices, you can almost smell the smoke coming through the phone.

Here’s a funny video produced by Britain’s Tandem Banks that makes a strong case for more human interaction.

Technology can be a beautiful thing. Microsoft is making great strides in their AI (artificial intelligence) but it’s really a shame that the consumer (the customer) has to be real time guinea pig as it all rolls out.

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Tim McLarty - Ontrack Communications Inc.

About the author

Tim McLarty is creative director at Ontrack Communications in Toronto. He’s a podcaster, and his background includes 9 years as professor of media creation at Humber College and 17 years as a broadcaster across Canada.  Ontrack is a media studio creating video, motion graphics, audio and podcast content.  In his spare time he makes short films and travels to any country that will have him.