Published on 12, July, 2020
I just had a call just now from an 'Energy Advisor' telling me my old fibreglass loft insulation is causing damp and mould and will need to be replaced and I needed an energy survey... - blah, blah. so I thought, ok, I'm in the mood - let's dance.... It sounded like a real person on the line - so I was getting comfy for the long haul - until I asked some random (confusing) questions and it reset to a different point in it's presentation and exactly repeated a couple of its previous lines - it was a semi-intelligent AI system based on snippet recordings done by a real person which it then assembled into plausible sounding conversation - so it is an 'automated con-man'. Once it decided I wasn't good prey, it cut off. Shame - I would love to have tested the limits of its programming for much longer. I'm impressed! Turing test 2/10 - fail. The number that comes up is 0113 509 7141I wonder how many people get signed up for a new insulation scam....?
Good work plastic!
I went through a phase of telling cold callers (with a tremble in my voice) that "no you can't talk to her, she's dead"! I'd essentially describe a crime of passion which had lead to me answering her phone, at which point most cold callers would have hung up.
But not this indian guy, oh no, he advised me to run before the police arrive. He was quite keen to motivate me to escape the scene...