The Rise of the Cyborgs

A very interesting, if somewhat disturbing report by the Atlantic on the use of pre-recorded voice snippets used in telemarketing. Basically, a person (typically working in a foreign call center) uses a sound board containing segments of a perfectly pre-recorded voices to “assemble" a conversation on the fly with potential customers:

“The Echo technology merely substitutes sound files for the agent’s  voice (although the agent can also interject with his or her own voice at any time) and assures positive interactive experiences for the consumer. CallAssistant’s agents interact with callers by selecting the appropriate audio file responses...”

It's no surprise that the rise of cyborg systems would find their first applications in commercial interests. Perhaps it’s disconcerting just how quickly they might replace “traditionally human" jobs such as out-bound marketing.

Having a conversation with another person is considered the gold standard of being sentient. These examples show that human+machine systems might actually be better at holding certain types of conversations.

Smarter Machines, More Effective Humans

This is merely the tip of the iceberg. Jeopardy robo-champion Watson is already being used in similar phone systems. What happens when telemarketers start using advanced AI systems such as Watson instead of relatively primitive sound-boards?

Taken to extremes, such a cyborg system could exhibit almost omniscient characteristics. Ask it any question, and the computer part could look it up instantly, while you are asking the question. The human “operator” (it’s hard to say who the “operator" is, or if there is even one) could use the information to direct the flow of the conversation.

Sensors could also be analyzing the caller's voice for signs of stress or uncertainty, giving additional inputs to leverage. For marketing, it might be able to sense when the prospect is ready to buy, and direct the conversation towards closing.

Now, what happens when such systems escape mere phone-based ones? What happens when it is built into every pair of Google Glasses? Because they can give wearers such an asymmetric advantage over others, this will quickly lead to everyone using such systems.

Take note. This is only the beginning, and when things change, they will change very quickly.

Related: Society, Tech.