When I came into work today at our little art gallery and gift shop, there were six messages in our voicemail box.
I suppose that's not so unusual at a place of business, but that's not the point.
The point is that not a single one was actually from a human being!
Some tiny and totally "analog" flowers...
Our Robotic World
Every single one was a so-called "robocall."
"This is the customer service department at Wave Broadband, with an important message for _____. It is important that ______ call us as soon as possible concerning updates to your account."
Eucalyptus flowers
There were actually blanks in the voiceover, because I have never actually called Wave Broadband to record my name.
I'm sure that if I called them, they would get me a "better rate" that would actually result in our bill going up.
"You are at risk of your Google Business listing being out of date! Please call immediately, to make sure your customers can still find you with Google Business!"
Yeah, right. You're not Google; I'm not in danger of anything, you're some twat reseller, and I probably know more about how Google works than you do...
A couple with many clicking sounds, suggesting an autodialer actually recognizing that it was talking to a voicemail.
Purple flower in the sun...
"Congratulations! You're now qualified for the new lower rates on group health insurance for small business! Please HOLD (emphasis added by me) to speak to one of our representatives!"
YOU are calling me with a machine, and actually expect me to hold to wait for a sales pitch? There is absolutely no part of my reality in which that makes sense...
"Attention Merchant! Federal regulation pursuant to the Flipjack-Bottomdweller Act means your bank is probably overcharging you for your merchant processing fees! Call 1-800-GET-LOST immediately, to make sure you are only paying the federally mandated rates for your credit card processing!"
I'm sorry, do I look like a complete flipping retard? If you're actually in business and think something like this is going to be real via a robocall, you don't deserve to be "in business!!!"
Nothing Says "We CARE" Like Automation!
As I considered my delightful morning messages, I also thought about our little community here in the world of Steemit and the Steem blockchain.
Bots everywhere.
Calendula flower...
Here we are, engaged in SOCIAL media, and the majority of the transactions are being done via bots — bot messages, bot vots, bot information — rather than human beings, being social.
Whether it's Steemit or the greater world, many would argue that having automation doing the bulk of the "leg work" amounts to a way of caring.
From where I am sitting... all those robo calls (and the bots of Steemit) feel a lot more like we DON'T care enough about you to interact directly with you, so here's a robotic substitute for humanity!
And then sociologists and social psychologists sit around and wonder why so many people are depressed because they feel like they are no longer connected to the world around them...
Well, WAKE UP and smell the robot!
Thanks for reading!
What about YOU? Do you get a lot of "robocalls? Does it feel like all this automation is slowly dehumanizing us? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!
(As always, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for Steemit)
Created at 190124 13:12 PST
0861