Chris Zell <[email protected]> wrote: It’s all well and good to discuss these AI systems as if they nearly > existed and were practical but I know of no major utility or corporation > that has an automated answering system that offers much of anything > > Beyond frustration and anger. >
On the other hand, corporate websites are very effective at handling public inquiries. I think the problem with automated answering systems is that a voice connection on the telephone is an inherently poor way to gather information and direct inquiries. Even when you call a human, you still have difficulty with this medium. A webpage is much better. > I would add that while I admire work on robotics done in Japan, companies > such as JVC > > and Panasonic can be nearly impossible to deal with (and let’s not ignore > power and cable companies in the US). “Watson” they are not! > But "Watson" they will be, in the not too distant future. Computer technology improves rapidly. IBM and others are developing single chip MPP processors with thousands of processors. By 2014, the Watson computer physical dimensions had been reduced from the size of a room to the size of "three pizza boxes" and the speed was 24 times faster than the original. Something that small is inherently cheap. It is made out of plastic and silicon, after all. See: http://gizmodo.com/ibms-watson-is-now-the-size-of-3-pizza-boxes-its-als-1497914636 - Jed
