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Inside: Which jobs can be replaced with AI? and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/06/unmerchantable-substitute-goods/

#Pluralistic

1/

A hand-grenade whose pull-ring has a circular tag with the number 1 in the center of it dangling from it. Next to it, in dripping letters, is the phrase 'Customer service department - take a number,' over the glaring red eye of HAL 9000 from Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey.' Behind the scene is a confusion of gears and mechanisms.

Image:
Cryteria (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0
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KBetik (modified)
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grenade_cover_old.jpg

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Goodbye
@pheonix@fosstodon.org

@pluralistic@mamot.fr this is such a good point, if all customer service reps do is recite phrases from their guidelines, then sure AI can and will replace them. Not like these people were given any agency in the first place!

George B
@gbargoud@masto.nyc

@pheonix@fosstodon.org @pluralistic@mamot.fr

One of the more annoying trends in customer service is the last couple of times I've ordered something and had it arrive broken or with a part missing, they just immediately sent me a whole new one.

Even though the broken part was small and easily repairable if they had someone who actually knew the product on the other end of the line instead and I neither have space for a second one nor a desire to throw out something so repairable.