If you’ve worked a customer service job, you’ve probably been subject to at least one tirade from an angry customer, or just some clown who wants to take out his bad day on you. It’s a horrible, demoralizing experience. So, of course, a bunch of scientists are building a robot to treat customer service reps like garbage.
Digital Trends reports that a New Zealand company is building an artificial intelligence they’re calling Radiant, because naming it Bender was probably too on the nose. Radiant is being built from two years’ worth of angry calls to some of Australia’s biggest banks.
Why does this exist, beyond the inevitable prank calls? To train customer service reps in how to calm down angry customers; instead of learning during live-fire exercises, so to speak, they can try new techniques to get the AI to relax and actually get helped. Among the expected responses are screaming, profanity, and abruptly hanging up.
In other words, they’re going to create an algorithm to build the Perfect Jerkass. And not only are people actually paying for this, it’s going to cost $400,000 to make it happen. Of course, building a computer program designed from the ground up to antagonize people is a project that will surely never go wrong and certainly won’t fall into the wrong hands. Good job, New Zealand!
(via Digital Trends)