Communication With People is Preferable to Talking to Technology

What I once considered fantasy is now becoming a reality thanks to Artificial Intelligence. What I have seen play out in animation and sci-fi television programming is now here in real time. AI has the ability to have conversations.

An increasing number of businesses are using technology that talks back the way a human does. I would prefer speaking with a living, breathing person, but I don't have the choice.

When I watched The Twilight Zone episode "From Agnes—With Love" (Season 5, Episode 20), I laughed at the idea of a computer taking on human traits, but what premiered as science fiction on February 14, 1964, is now a reality.

When Agnes, the computer, expressed jealousy, I could never have conceived that this would be a possibility one day. The computer gave Wally Cox's character, James, advice he thought would help him win the woman he loves because Agnes convinced him she knew best.

Instead Agnes purposely told him to do things that caused his lady friend to want nothing to do with him. She convinced Technology in 2026 is not quite that advanced but I believe we are getting closer every day.

I use the Venmo ap. Whenever I call the 800 number, AI asks questions and gives answers, just as a human would do. I have conversations with this technology as if I am talking to a person.

The same happens with the Chime ap. I realize that artificial intelligence cannot reason like a living person, but it is pretty close. I have been given instructions as if a knowledgeable man or woman was instructing me.

Rosie the Robot on The Jetsons cartoon and the robot on Lost in Space exhibited human emotions, and I considered it science fiction entertainment. Rosie could cry and become distressed and fell in love. The robot on LIS expressed his love for the Robinson family.

Now, six decades later, I believe we are very close to AI coming across as real. Consider ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. If you ask detailed questions, they can give answers that sound like you are having a conversation with another human.

I have a Vita Mahjong game on my iPhone. Whenever I miss a few days of playing the game, messages pop up on the screen that read as if they were written by a scorned lover.

When I see "Where are you?" "Why are you ignoring me?" I'm lonely; please come back." It's creepy coming from AI. Some people believe a Bible passage (Daniel 12:4) refers to the time we are now living in.

"Many shall run to and from, and knowledge shall be increased.”

Knowledge is increasing because by the time you get used to an iPhone, it becomes outdated and a new model with more technological advances is suggested.

We don't have Rosie and the Lost in Space robot yet, but we are pretty close. GPS (most times) gives accurate driving instructions as well as a human. Automated registers have replaced human jobs.

This scenario was also in a 1964 episode of The Twilight Zone, The Brain Center at Whipple's, which aired on May 15 of that year. In this episode, Mr. Whipple (Richard Deacon) replaced his employees with programmed computers that did every job.

His company was silent without humans running things. One of the saddest things I experienced was last Christmas at Walmart. There were not the usual number of shoppers or employees.

Instead of six or seven registers manned by people, there were only two with four self-checkouts. This was depressing to watch. I worked customer service in the 1970s and 1980s. I answered phones and gave my name.

How I wish I could call a company and have someone answer after two or three rings, rather than going through prompts like "press 1 for this or 2 for that," only to reach an answering machine and not always get a return call.

Humans need each other, and "Agnes" technology does not always know best. Still, we are here, and there is no turning back.