MISSING PERSONS

There is a move afoot by businesses in our country to eliminate any and all person-to-person interaction. Somewhere between “press one for . . .” menus on touchtone landline phones, “apps” on mobile phones, and “AI” rearing its head in everything digital, it has progressively progressed (or degenerated) to the point that it just might be possible to spend entire days and weeks, perhaps a lifetime if you are young enough, without ever having to rely on another human being to get something done, at least not directly.

Where have all the people gone?

At the grocery store, you can wander the aisles then scan and sack your purchases without human intervention. Or you can do it without leaving home, using an app to shop online. Then you can arrange with a delivery service—again through an app—to leave what you bought on your porch. Rather than knock on the door, they’ll take a picture of your purchase sitting there and send the photo to you in a text message to let you know it has arrived.

Speaking of text messages, when was the last time you actually called a friend and spoke to them? Or even left a recording of your voice on a messaging system that allows them to never speak directly to another person?

What if you’re one of the rare breed who wants to talk to people on the phone? Dial up a business and you’ll more than likely have to wend your way through a lengthy session of button pressing to conduct your business. A living, breathing, human being is only available as a last resort after pressing another button and waiting and waiting and waiting for your call—which is important to them—to be answered by a person. Even then, that person is unlikely to actually converse with you. Instead, they will read canned responses from their computer screen which may or may not (usually not) answer your question or solve your problem.

Looking for help online—already a step removed from human interaction—used to result in a slow-going, tedious exchange of typed messages with someone on the other end. But those people seem to have been replaced by AI. But artificial “intelligence” offers no discernable improvement in intelligence. Often there is no direct response to your question at all, just a choice of answers only tangentially related to your query, if at all. And then they want you to answer a little quiz about how satisfied you were with their performance.

Getting your order taken at the counter in a fast-food restaurant appears to have joined the list of threatened and endangered species. The invasion of “kiosks” is making contact with a person unnecessary and, it seems, unwanted. If you prefer the drive-through window, you are encouraged to order through the “app” and avoid even speaking to a person through the speaker. At an increasing number of sit-down restaurants you can find little gadgets on the table that let you place your order without dealing with a person, and maybe play a few games while you wait for your food. Your dining experience requires only the briefest of contact with a human person as he or she flits past to put your food on the table. Then you can pay the check on the gadget, and be invited to take a survey about how satisfied you are with their customer service. Or, of course, you can stay at home and get it all done and delivered through those “app” things.

Health care has also become a pain for those who wish to engage with humans. Online “portals” require you to ask your questions, set appointments, get referrals, request prescriptions, see test results, and just about everything else, all without human contact.

And that’s not all: You can buy anything your heart desires from online retailers, from roller skates to automobiles, all without human contact. Banks are in on it. Money lenders. Car dealers. Gas stations. Movie theaters. Pharmacies. And on and on and on.

Finally, and perhaps most damning of all, even those annoying telemarketers in their call centers are giving way to recorded messages and make-believe conversations with artificial people who offer you things you don’t want or need.

The world is changing. Or maybe it has already changed.

Where have all the people gone?