Remember the old days when you could call a helpline and speak to an actual person?
Sure, you might have waited forever and a day and the adviser on the other side might not have provided the assistance you needed, but those who have experienced an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot might long for the days of hold music and frustrating waits.
One Telus customer simply wanted to find out how to subscribe to a new channel to watch "Shark Tank," only to get a response that really has to be seen to be believed.
"Just to confirm, are you looking into an Apple or a Samsung watch," the bot asked.
The user was perplexed, but the bot insisted that buying a smartwatch was much better for this customer than watching their favorite show.
After some unsavory language — chatbots have feelings, too, you know — the AI service decided to try a different tactic. Perhaps, its programming seemed to think, it might have more success by asking questions in French.
Surprisingly, that didn't satisfy the user's query.
"This could be an SNL skit," one Redditor said of the "Saturday Night Live" live-sketch comedy variety show about the exchange, which was shared with the r/Telus Reddit community.
While this might have been a faster way for the customer to get to the stage of helpline disappointment, it goes to show that AI isn't always the solution it's supposed to be.
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The technology definitely has its uses, like providing better health care and solving problems related to crop cultivation, but it is also environmentally damaging.
Energy use for data centers used to power AI is soaring, with Google noting in its annual environment report that since making greater use of the technology over the span of five years, its polluting gas levels have climbed by 48%, per the Guardian.
Despite the rise in renewable energy, the electricity grid is still heavily reliant on dirty fuels, which explains Google's climbing pollution. But many data centers also waste a lot of water to provide cooling, which is a drain on a vital resource that is becoming increasingly scarce.
Scientists are working on ways to reduce the planet-warming impact of data centers, especially as AI isn't going away anytime soon. But even if that happens, it's still likely to infuriate folks who just want to kick back and watch some TV.
"I think AI customer service is designed to make you give up," one Redditor speculated. "There's no way anyone interacts with an AI cs bot and go 'wow that was amazing they really care about me there.'"
"Wow, this AI is so bad it's unbelievable," another added.
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