Thank you for calling digital thoughts
Press 1 to be stuck in a endless loop
It’s your lunch break and you only have 30 minutes to call customer service
You are thinking to yourself if you just find a nice peaceful corner you can eat and call them at the same time
You dial the 800 number with a smile on your face
Then it happens…
You are now in an elaborate phone tree, and you realize this one is different, its driven by voice. It understands what you need and want.
So you describe the reason for your call
The robot on the other end tells you that it does not understand the request and asks you to repeat yourself
That’s ok. You had food in your mouth when you spoke so this time you make sure to annunciate each syllable
Again the robot it does not understand the request and asks you to repeat yourself.
You’re a little frustrated but you try again. They always say, third times a charm, right…?
Again the robot it does not understand the request and it abruptly ends the call.
You look at the clock and see you only have 15 minutes left of lunch and you have not solved any problem or eaten your lunch.
You hit redial and try again. Again the call ends.
You now have 8 minutes left of lunch. But you are no quitter you hit redial again, but this time with a new plan.
When the robot asks you for help this time you will politely ask for the operator. Being polite is key because if and when the machines take over the Earth you want them to remember that you were nice to them.
You say “operator” the first chance you get and the robot says “please describe why you are calling us so we can better help you”
You take a deep breath and say “operator” with a little more authority this time so establish your dominance but still keep a level of decorum.
Then it happens again the call ends.
You are furious now and you should have been back at your desk 5 minutes ago but you are not going to let this go without a resolution!
You hit redial and just start yelling “OPERATOR…OPERATOR…OPERATOR…OPERATOR!!!”
The robot on the other end just replies with the same question you have heard before.
You have now fallen to the floor with 3/4 of your sandwich in your hand weeping just saying “operator” over and over again in a feeble attempt to make this happen.
You are now half an hour late and you have not completed your task or eaten your lunch and now you have people walking by giving you weird looks.'
Imagine having that encounter when calling a hospital or a doctors office. I don’t think any of us would appreciate an encounter like that. Then why are we okay with it for others?
This is something that really perplexes me. It makes me think about this scene in Arrested Development
Healthcare is and always will be about human connection. AI use cases are growing by the day as people look for new ways to implement the technology. But let’s use it the way it should be used. Use it the way where it can help the most.
Use AI for repeatable tasks that can easily be automated. Use it to find patterns in your data. Use it ask questions with your own documents. Yes these examples are not the flashiest but they will make a massive impact.
The best part about those examples is that they can stand agnostic of the clients technology. Which is one of the greatest hurdles when making a digital health startup.
How can you support others:
Please consider donating to the less fortunate. This is a reminder not only for you but also for myself.
or donate to a charity of your choice. A little bit goes a long way.
Thank you so much for your support!
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