Have they finally taken over? It seems that with each new day, humans are communicating more with robots than with other human beings. Just take fast food, for instance. Wendy’s restaurants have introduced their AI generative menu. Customers place their order in the drive through by speaking with a chatbot. According to an article by Julie Littman from the Restaurant Dive website, many fast food restaurants are now using AI kiosks, which means less human interaction between customers and store employees.
“Twenty-six percent of restaurant operators say they are using artificial intelligence-related tools at their restaurants,” wrote Littman.
In an Eye of The Gale questionnaire, students and staff gave their opinions and experiences with AI. LHS staff member Shannon Fish, believes that there is an importance of one on one human interaction.
“This kind of communication does not allow people to communicate with each other, it also leads to frustration for customers when the AI does not understand or interpret spoken information correctly. Personally, I will not patronize a restaurant unless a human is taking my order,” said Fish.
LHS sophomore Joshua Hawk, is also upset about the loss of communication with a real human.
“It is harder to find a place with genuine humans to talk to which is how AI has changed how we talk. Businesses use it instead of people to save money and it makes less human interactions,” said Hawk.
LHS staff member Megan Meyer, has a very strong opinion and despises the use of AI with fast food.
“I hate it! I tried to order a pizza and it took way longer than normal. They finally gave me a human when the AI could not understand me,” said Meyer.
AI is being used more and more with companies to speak with customers. Fish got into an accident and had trouble because she had to speak with AI instead of a real human.
“I was recently hit by someone driving under the influence. When I could speak with the insurance adjusters personally, questions were answered in a timely fashion. When I had to chat with AI or try to login to a website to get information, every delay possible happened every time,” said Fish.
Hawk had a different experience but also had difficulties and he also had to speak to AI instead of a human.
“When I was talking to a company to get support because they had a glitch in their system I had to chat with a bot,” said Hawk.
Myer was trying to do her job and had to talk to AI. She ended up having to give up with the AI and talk to a human.
“When I tried to get some help with ACT registration. I chatted with a bot on their website, and didn’t get any answers. I ended up having to call them to speak to a representative,” said Myer.
The loss of face to face communication is becoming a hot political topic and government leaders such as Bernie Sanders continuously warn about the dangers of artificial intelligence and human communication. In fact, Sanders was quoted in The Guardian that the growing use of AI is threatening humanity.
“If this trend continues, what does it mean over the years when people are not getting their support, their interaction from other human beings, but from a machine?” he said. “What does that mean to humanity?” said Sanders.
Regardless of what Sanders or any other politician might believe, one thing is certain, the American government needs to get ahead of AI now. No telling how soon it will be too late.
