Kaleidoscope

Abstract

‘One day last month Linda Hiwot, a Brooklyn junior high school teacher, got a surprise when she phoned her bank for a credit-card balance. Instead of the familiar human teller, she was answered by a computer-generated voice that told all callers with Touch-Tone phones to “press I now”, thus beginning a series of steps that would eventually lead to her balance. When she called the IRS [Internal Revenue Service] about an overdue tax check, another computer voice directed her to “push 9” for refunds. Even a local department store had acquired a robot operator, which like an overeager clerk insisted on taking Hiwot on a guided tour of the entire store (“For furniture, home decorating or major appliances, push 3”). Desperate for human contact, she finally dialed a friend, only to be invited to leave a message at the sound of a tone’ (Philip Elmer-De-Witt, ‘Hello! This is Voice Mail Speaking’, Time 22 May 89).