What happens to old people in the new world? I imagine that businesses who strike the right balance between automation and humanity will find themselves as the forerunners in our global technocratic economy. During a recent experience reconstructing my own business for scale, I witnessed a harbinger of the world to come. And it appears we have been irreversibly catapulted into an age that is postured to discard some humans in exchange for the profitability of automation.
“I’m sorry, ma’am, your plan does not include phone support. Please use our live support link for technical assistance,” said the woman on the other line who had no authority to exercise discretion.
I sighed, repeating for the fifth time, “Um, that’s what I did. But you see, I have a visual impairment and need a voice to help me navigate your confusing website.”
After my long suffering and a 30 minute hold time, the agent announced that her supervisor approved connecting me to a live technical support agent.
And then I was dropped in the same loop of artificial intelligence.
And when the next agent began the same exact script, I stopped her in her tracks.
“How much will it cost for me to purchase time on the phone with a human to help me terminate my service?”
She replied, “It is $411 for the year to have phone support.”
As a lawyer, I’m wondering if this is even ADA compliant. But what bothered me the most was that the race to Ai governance has not taken the elderly, disabled, or other techno-divergent into account.
They will be discarded. Left behind. Useless for the coming era.
My virtual assistant, young and tech-savvy, was left In knots and frustration after her own attempts to troubleshoot our challenges with Zoom Phone. So it wasn’t just my inability to track with the small print in the bottom corner of my screen. It was a market giant forcing its will on our humanity. It left its human agents with absolutely no power to override the system.
It was oppressive.
As business owners and thought leaders we are now faced with a real and present danger. As much as I enjoy the efficiency and convenience of technology, I would never trade it for the perfectly flawed connection of humanity. We should all keep this balance in mind as we continue to race into our future. This earth exists for humans. And we should never yield our sovereignty to the machine.
Be blessed and encouraged,
Sherlyn “Char” Selassie, Esq.
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