How would you approach this. You email a company that has something you want to license. An agent responds. Do you abandon your pursuits at that point and consider other options?
I mean honestly yes, if given the choice not to interact with an AI system for something I will. Simple example, the Comcast AI slop bot stonewalls you online, but you can walk into a retail location and have a human resolve the issue in 30 seconds
Totally get that. I think the fear there is that maybe this is the timeline where we just keep running out of those options.
I still favor a longer line with a human or two in the loop at the store rather than self checkout. Depending on the time of day, self checkout is the only options. Fortunately, there's usually problems and you still get a chance to connect with a human :)
RMS drew a line in the sand with how he interacts with closed-source systems. Starting to wonder if that's how extreme we need to be AI systems.
Depends on how close other options are to what I want.
But if you're going to have an agent rather than a human respond to enquiries from potential customers (= $), then I'm not convinced I'm going to like how you respond after I am a customer.
Yeah, that closeness of options makes it tough to really dig the heels in. Also, you can become a customer today, and have them fire their entire support staff and replace it with an agent tomorrow. Dwindling QC and CS isn't a new concern though, just need to make sure the space isn't owned by a single company
It's certainly true that companies can take a turn for the worse and stop treating their customers well. But a company using bots to communicate with prospective customers is sending you a signal that they already treat their customers poorly. Maybe you don't have any alternative options, but if you do, it's wise to listen to the unintentional warning this company is giving you.
Let's say it was critical for the business, with no viable alternatives? I'm all for "find a way or make one" but there are times when you need to be more practical than dogmatic.
Sometimes in business you ultimately and unavoidably have to eat shit, so it is what it is. But you should strive to be someone who doesn’t have to eat shit, and until then, if you still gotta eat shit, then try not to make a habit of it.
> Let's say it was critical for the business, with no viable alternatives?
If its that critical for you why are you rolling the dice on a general email and ... waiting for an email back and forth? Something so important as a vender "license" deciding if your company succeeds or fails should not rely on an email sent to an address pulled on their website.
Find a contact, a human, drive (or fly) to their office and make an in-person appointment, show they are important to you. Otherwise that game of AI email tag should be more than enough to tell both parties just how not serious the whole thing is.
This might be dogmatic, but I genuinely don’t care. Outside of the business not caring enough to get a human to respond, I just don’t want to give money to people using LLMs. The technology is based off of theft from the working class. It’s the same reason I choose union businesses.
variety8675 · · focus · HN ↗
joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
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joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
I still favor a longer line with a human or two in the loop at the store rather than self checkout. Depending on the time of day, self checkout is the only options. Fortunately, there's usually problems and you still get a chance to connect with a human :)
RMS drew a line in the sand with how he interacts with closed-source systems. Starting to wonder if that's how extreme we need to be AI systems.
AnimalMuppet · · focus · HN ↗
But if you're going to have an agent rather than a human respond to enquiries from potential customers (= $), then I'm not convinced I'm going to like how you respond after I am a customer.
joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
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joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
vips7L · · focus · HN ↗
joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
Would love to hear your thoughts
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joshtronic · · focus · HN ↗
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1659447091 · · focus · HN ↗
If its that critical for you why are you rolling the dice on a general email and ... waiting for an email back and forth? Something so important as a vender "license" deciding if your company succeeds or fails should not rely on an email sent to an address pulled on their website.
Find a contact, a human, drive (or fly) to their office and make an in-person appointment, show they are important to you. Otherwise that game of AI email tag should be more than enough to tell both parties just how not serious the whole thing is.
vips7L · · focus · HN ↗
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