> Before the humans talk, the automated assistants on both sides should have all the routine stuff out of the way.
Imagine if there wasn't quite enough security built into all of this.
Store-bot: To confirm identity, what is users full name?
Phone-tree-bot: Thomas Arnold Pellington
Store-bot: What is Thomas Arnold Pellington's address?
Phone-tree-bot: 186 North 15th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota
Store-bot: What is Thomas Arnold Pellington's Social Security Number?
Phone-tree-bot: 183-44-5975
Now what if Phone-tree-bot called the wrong store number?
I remember a case awhile back where someone changed the phone number to the FBI or CIA was changed on Google Maps. IIRC, they forwarded the calls to the correct number, but could have just as easily intercepted the communications. A human has a chance of noticing that "the person on the other end is asking some weird questions that make me feel uneasy, maybe I should hang up". Hopefully bots could develop the same ability? Having a centralized source of phone trees for all the cable, cell phone, and service providers would certainly help.
> Imagine if there wasn't quite enough security built into all of this.
Fortunately, it seems that security was a consideration.
From the Ars Technica article: At one point, the callers' email was asked for and Duplex responded with "I'm afraid I don't have permission to share my client's email."
Imagine if there wasn't quite enough security built into all of this.
Store-bot: To confirm identity, what is users full name?
Phone-tree-bot: Thomas Arnold Pellington
Store-bot: What is Thomas Arnold Pellington's address?
Phone-tree-bot: 186 North 15th Street Minneapolis, Minnesota
Store-bot: What is Thomas Arnold Pellington's Social Security Number?
Phone-tree-bot: 183-44-5975
Now what if Phone-tree-bot called the wrong store number?
I remember a case awhile back where someone changed the phone number to the FBI or CIA was changed on Google Maps. IIRC, they forwarded the calls to the correct number, but could have just as easily intercepted the communications. A human has a chance of noticing that "the person on the other end is asking some weird questions that make me feel uneasy, maybe I should hang up". Hopefully bots could develop the same ability? Having a centralized source of phone trees for all the cable, cell phone, and service providers would certainly help.