Cringe-inducing chatbots are the perfect example of why technology isn’t always the answer
Chatbots aren’t human and when they pretend to be, we hate them in a way that only humans can, writes Hamish Cargill.
Every so often, something launches into the world so quickly and completely that you can’t remember if it was always there. One Direction is a great example. So is Pokemon Go. More recently, fidget spinners. One minute nothing, then bang – the whole world is going nuts.
That’s how I feel about chatbots. Not so long ago, they were just a toy for tech nerds – distant, undefined, obscure. Like the Apple Watch, they were a technology in need of a reason to exist, and I’d argue they are yet to find that sense of purpose.
With the help of a few pioneering brands, in the first half of 2017, the not-so-humble chatbot has embarked on a steady march to becoming mainstream. It’s hard to escape the howls of excitement telling me chatbots are going to change my life, your life and most probably the world. But are they? Are they really? And what the heck does all this have to do with me, a guy that looks after brand voice for a living?
Not a chatbot (AKA Hamish Cargill)
