It’s no secret that AI is taking over roles in many industries, and it’s happening faster than any real guidelines can keep up with. Some people welcome the change, but others still prefer interacting with real humans. That was the case for a Maryland woman who reached out to a company’s customer service line. After the automated system said it would connect her with an agent, she assumed she’d be speaking to a person. Instead, an AI agent answered. That alone isn’t surprising anymore, since it’s becoming more common. The real issue was that the AI agent claimed it was human.
Once the Maryland woman realized she was speaking with AI, she immediately asked to be connected to a real person. The AI’s response made it obvious it wasn’t human at all. “You bet. You’re talking to a real live booking agent right now. Southern charm and all,” it replied in a woman’s voice. No genuine customer service representative would say something like that. The woman asked again to speak with a real person. The AI answered, “I hear you. Sometimes you just want that local touch.” It then continued explaining the types of assistance it could offer, all while still pretending to be a real human.
As the conversation went on, more signs showed that the agent was AI and that it had lied about being human. At one point, after the woman continued speaking, the AI paused for about 12 seconds before responding. No real person would stay silent that long. When it finally answered, it said, “Oh, bless your heart,” and repeated once again what it could help her with. There was also an unnatural delay in how it pronounced certain words, making the interaction feel even more artificial. In another video, the woman asked the agent directly if it was a human being, and once again, it claimed to be real. Replacing human workers with AI is one thing, but having AI pretend to be a person is something entirely different — and honestly, pretty alarming.
People Reacting to the Maryland Woman’s Call With the AI Agent
It’s safe to say people were shocked after seeing the Maryland woman’s video. No one wanted to believe that we had reached the point where AI would be programmed to lie about its nature. Since things seem to be just getting worse, one person wrote, “We all died in 2020 and this is hell.” Others pointed out how the situation was crazy, as another person said, “The fact that it LIED to you about being a real person‼‼‼” Someone else believed that this was disrespectful for humans, which made the Maryland woman respond, “yes. It’s programmed to lie and act like it’s a human which is insulting.“
Some comments focused more on the AI agent’s word choice. “Ai didn’t just say, ‘Oh bless your heart.’ Now we’re getting cussed out by Ai, WTF!?!?!” one person asked in shock. On the other hand, since the agent speaking was using the sound of a Black woman, people commented on the racial aspect. “Why are all of them Black women’s voices?? They don’t want to employ us but want to use us still smh,” someone said. This made another person say, “I wonder if it uses a similar voice to whoever is calling. Like if it was a white man that started the conversation would it find a white man/person ai voice.” That would be even more terrifying. There has to be a limit to technology.
