Another conversation with AI

On December 30, I received a phone call from the capital. It was a working day and I didn't hesitate to pick up right away because I really expected a call from the capital. Not counting the fact that the phone number written on the screen was from a landline, and who uses landlines these days?
So I picked up the phone.
Now I can no longer remember, given the subsequent conversation, whether the male voice on the other end of the line said my name and I confirmed it. This detail of the conversation now escapes my memory because, as I said, I was really expecting a call at that time.

"Hello, my name is Ivaylo Ivanov" (a completely normal and standard Bulgarian name), said the voice of the young man opposite.
"I want to let you know that you've been selected for a two-week free treatment to repair your joints, with collagen nourishment and such" (I'm improvising here, but that was the general message - I've been selected for a free treatment for my joints).

For a split second, these words pleasantly surprised me. It was, just like when you think of something and FB immediately shows you an ad for the same thing - this has really happened to me.
I've been hearing one of my knees creak for quite some time, especially when doing certain movements or exercises, and while I've been meaning to buy collagen for a really long time, now is not the time for such an expense. I also have a sports injury from 4 years ago that I was able to walk again with some difficulty after physical therapy and prolonged treatment, and the effects of it keep reminding themselves often. So, something like that - free treatment, possibly free collagen, sounds wonderful. But... for the next split second I immediately realized that no one gives such gifts to anyone for free.🤣

"Before we continue the conversation", said the young male voice, "I want to ask you, do you have the joint problems?"
"No, I haven't", I replied, like any child who knows not to share anything with strangers. 😅 In general, this is already an instinctive reaction for me at every such conversation and call from people who offer me something or "gift" me something, but want something else in return - I respond with the exact opposite of what I think and what is.
"Okay", continued the voice on the other side, "now I will write down your answer, and then I will pass it on to my colleague Stoyan (I no longer remember the last name of this quoted name, but again it was a traditional Bulgarian name), who will contact you to clarify the details of how the free two-week treatment will be administered. But before that please tell me now your exact address with zip code, city, street etc."

Wait a minute, I said to myself, I just said that I don't need this free treatment, but the voice on the other side continues the line of conversation as if I had said the exact opposite.
At that moment I entered the room where my partner was. It was now abundantly clear what they were actually calling me about (well, ok, I still can't figure out what is being done with all this collected personal information, and I have no way of knowing because:
"Would you mind telling me exactly which company you're calling me from?" I replied. I no longer remembered if this voice had mentioned a company name at the beginning of the conversation. I remembered that he had told me that he was calling from an international company with an office in the capital.
"I'm calling from an international company with an office in the capital," the voice said again.
"Will you tell me the name of this company?", I insisted again.
"I'm calling from an international company with an office in the capital." the voice said again.

"Yes, but I want to know the name of this international company", I continued, and already other things became clear as well.
"I'm calling from an international company with an office in the capital," the voice said again like a broken gramophone record.
"Hang up, can't you see you're talking to an AI", my partner said irritated and I automatically hung up.

But then I regretted it. What if I had told the machine on the other side the following address, for example: ZIP Code 6666, North Pole City, Unknown Street 1723, Entrance Z, Floor 18, Suite 3225...
The bot would accept and "write down" all of this. Then he would probably ask me about something else, he would ask me for additional information - ID, ID card number, debit card number, etc. If I hadn't hung up so quickly and thoughtlessly, I would have learned more about this new "scheme".
But to tell you the truth, the moment I realized I was talking to a machine, I was scared. And not just because I'm talking to a machine. But because I was talking to a machine impersonating a human. That's it. That's the scariest thing to me about this case, even if we forget about the phone scam that this call was in the first place.

I seriously imagine already a terrible future in a few hundred years, when machines would already be moving between people and it would be terribly difficult to recognize them, they would be well disguised and there would be cases, you marry someone, live with them for years, until one day you realize it's a machine. There are such fictional scenarios already, I guess, that are going to come true someday.
And maybe it doesn't make sense to mention again, or on the contrary, there is a need to remind, why the users of this blockchain were so shocked some time ago when it was flooded with the comments of a machine pretending to be human. I think this is one of the most horrifying things that a person can come up with and implement.

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|