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The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

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Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#21

Post by anaskar »

The goal/intent/promise with these companies is always train AI to automate the process. This is good for both "buzz" and cost reasons long-term.

Companies describe the AI as two-fold: 1) actual AI responding to your requests and 2) Automation making human workers' jobs much easier, ie. a really good CRM or scheduling algo.

The reality is that high growth almost always means throwing more people at the problem under the guise of being "trainers" when in reality the technology only really caters to #2 (better automation) and the company is forced to pivot before ever really getting to #1 (AI handling the requests) either due to distractions or inability to actual deliver on the promise.

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#22

Post by cubano »

aresant wrote: post #8
mathattack wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this typical of the "Fake it until you have product/market fit, then automate" ethos?

Pitch: "x.ai – artificial intelligence that schedules meetings" Reality: "A group of low-paid humans (that may-or-may not have been background checked) will read your emails to help you schedule meetings. They will probably not use this information in any way other than intended." Those feel like two different products that I would make fundamentally different decisions about.

Maybe, in the VCs minds, a "group of low-paid humans" is equivalent to "ai."

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#23

Post by Aelinsaar »

Animats wrote: post #15
Aelinsaar wrote: post #3

Is there any indication that there is actually light at the end of this tunnel, and not just a lot more tunnel? How much of this is just smoke and mirrors for the sake of product development, and how much is just to bilk investors? I read the entire article, and I don't get the sense that the author is totally sure either.

The company with the $9/month price point has to reach near full automation or die. The company with the $200/month price point could be totally manual until the automated systems catch up. Recommended viewing: "The Devil wears Prada", Andy's first day at Runway.

Hell, I've been meaning to see that movie anyway, thanks.

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#24

Post by sopooneo »

aresant wrote: post #4

I am actually shocked to learn that x.ai has human beings reading the emails. X.AI's marketing materials state it's "An AI personal assistant who schedules meetings for you." Their default tagline in every email sent says "x.ai – artificial intelligence that schedules meetings " You have to dig into their press kit to get any mention of human "Supervised Learning". My typical interaction with Amy has been a 3rd party…

It's kind of like Uber. Before the had the AI worked out, they were just paying people to drive all the cars.

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#25

Post by maxerickson »

galistoca wrote: post #20
jedberg wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should always assume that employees of a third party are reading your messages and always read the privacy policy.

There's a huge difference between an employee monitoring the product to make sure things don't go wrong, and an employee paid to fill in for the main product. It's like a real-life mechanical turk.

If you are worried about confidential information there isn't much of a difference.

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#26

Post by TeMPOraL »

morgante wrote: post #14
twinkletwinkle wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Two parties to an email conversation. If one person is using "Amy" and adds her to the conversation, the other person may not fully understand the implications. Especially since their marketing tries hard to blur the lines.

To the outside party, Amy seems like a competent secretary. I'm not sure why they would assume "she" isn't.

Doesn't every email "she" sends say "x.ai – artificial intelligence that schedules meetings"?

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#27

Post by mathattack »

caseysoftware wrote: post #9
mathattack wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this typical of the "Fake it until you have product/market fit, then automate" ethos?

Yes and I think that works with many areas and in many products. But when you have confidential information in the mix - especially stuff that might have SEC implications - it changes the game. A few years ago, I did a contract with a company that had a system that deleted all email greater than a year old. While the official answer was that it was "to save space and improve network performance" I suspect the unstate…

Interesting, and probably very true.

Most email deletion policies are to protect companies from after-the-fact lawsuits. :-)

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#28

Post by marcosdumay »

aresant wrote: post #8
mathattack wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn't this typical of the "Fake it until you have product/market fit, then automate" ethos?

Pitch: "x.ai – artificial intelligence that schedules meetings" Reality: "A group of low-paid humans (that may-or-may not have been background checked) will read your emails to help you schedule meetings. They will probably not use this information in any way other than intended." Those feel like two different products that I would make fundamentally different decisions about.

Shouldn't be much different. In either case you have no idea what the external person/AI will do with your data.

Re: The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots

#30

Post by taneq »

"But for now, the companies are largely powered by people, clicking behind the curtain and making it look like magic."

Does this remind anyone else of the anonymous voice actors behind the Young Lady's Illustrated Primer?

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