Taro's Blog

I am a huge fan of Bill Gates. He is great! However, I have to counterargue with Bill on AI. In 2023, he predicted that 2023 would be the year of AI, and AI would be widely used in our lives. He was correct; the corporations and governments started to adopt AI and incorporate AI into their customer service platforms. They laid off customer service staff and saved a lot of money. AI works 24/7, no need to sleep, no salaries, and no complaints.

However, I argue that the introduction of AI actually deteriorated their customer service experiences. In 2025, AI-powered ChatBots are common and the only option. The customer service phone lines were trafficked by AI so that it never reaches a human (a lazy, dumb, needs to sleep, needs to eat, needs to go to the restrooms, demands higher salaries, needs vacations, always complains). If their systems were perfect without flaws, then it would be no problem. Are you getting my point?

Any system has a bug or two. When you hit a situation that has never been tested, a sxxt-hit-the-fan experience starts. I have experienced a few. Maybe more than a few. A ChatBot gave me a perfect conversation to please me, but it forgot to trigger the actions. As a result, I got angrier because I realized I wasted my precious 30 minutes. I concluded that the current AI is a facelifted ELIZA. After 59 years, I did not see much improvement. The AI talked like a veteran, but acted like a rookie.

Can you hear me? Transport for NSW, Yamato Transport, and many corporations that use AI to screen resumes from candidates, “Your AI-powered customer service system sucks.”