It's almost a religious question: in whose image are we making robots?
Will we only make clever, efficient robots who will do what they're told -- built, naturally, in the image of your average middle management functionary?
Or will we attempt to build monsters -- just because we like to put our fingers in the fire occasionally?
A New Zealand company called Touchpoint Group says it's building a robot that will be the worst of us.
It will be angry all the time. Angrier than a motorist trying to tolerate yet another cyclist who goes straight through a stop sign. Angrier than Kanye when he sees a paparazzo. And, yes, angrier than any Comcast customer that ever lived.
The idea, in fact, is to help organizations deal with angry customers. As the Australian Business Review reports, Touchpoint is working with a bank so that its machines can better understand why customers get angry.
Those who enjoy their Isaac Asimov might be amused (or appalled) that this project carries the name Radiant. In Asimov's work, Prime Radiant predicted how humans might behave in the future.
Some, though, might be concerned about Touchpoint's angry robot.
It is, of course, marginally hilarious that a bank might need a robot to explain that bad or opaque customer service might get humans mad. What is there to understand? Or is this, perhaps, another step for financial organizations to remove, say, employees altogether?
by Chris Matyszczyk, CNET | Read more:
Image: DJAlienPhantom/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk
Will we only make clever, efficient robots who will do what they're told -- built, naturally, in the image of your average middle management functionary?Or will we attempt to build monsters -- just because we like to put our fingers in the fire occasionally?
A New Zealand company called Touchpoint Group says it's building a robot that will be the worst of us.
It will be angry all the time. Angrier than a motorist trying to tolerate yet another cyclist who goes straight through a stop sign. Angrier than Kanye when he sees a paparazzo. And, yes, angrier than any Comcast customer that ever lived.
The idea, in fact, is to help organizations deal with angry customers. As the Australian Business Review reports, Touchpoint is working with a bank so that its machines can better understand why customers get angry.
Those who enjoy their Isaac Asimov might be amused (or appalled) that this project carries the name Radiant. In Asimov's work, Prime Radiant predicted how humans might behave in the future.
Some, though, might be concerned about Touchpoint's angry robot.
It is, of course, marginally hilarious that a bank might need a robot to explain that bad or opaque customer service might get humans mad. What is there to understand? Or is this, perhaps, another step for financial organizations to remove, say, employees altogether?
by Chris Matyszczyk, CNET | Read more:
Image: DJAlienPhantom/YouTube screenshot by Chris Matyszczyk
