Smart assistants need a dumbing down

A memorable exchange with a voice helpline left this writer wondering if artificial intelligence is really what it’s made out to be.

Throwing AI into vending-machine tasks is not just overkill – it makes the experience worse for the end user, says the writer. PHOTO: AFP
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A couple of events happened in the span of a few days which convinced me that artificial intelligence (AI) is a mistake.

Singapore telcos have just added an anti-scam feature. All incoming overseas calls can now be blocked. I was over the moon when I saw that in the news last week.

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