The Blurred Reality of Human-Washing
Uncanny Valley | WIRED18 Heinä 2024

The Blurred Reality of Human-Washing

Voice assistants have become a constant presence in our lives. Maybe you talk to Alexa or Gemini or Siri to ask a question or to perform a task. Maybe you have to do a little back and forth with a voice bot whenever you call your pharmacy, or when you book a service appointment at your car dealership. You may even get frustrated and start pleading with the robot on the other end of the line to connect you with a real human.


That’s the catch, though: These voice bots are starting to sound a lot more like actual humans, with emotions in their voice, little ticks and giggles in between phrases, and the occasional flirty aside. Today’s voice-powered chatbots are blurring the lines between what’s real and what’s not, which prompts a complicated ethical question: Can you trust a bot that insists it’s actually human?


This week, Lauren Goode tells us about her recent news story on a bot that was easily tricked into lying and saying it was a human. And WIRED senior writer Paresh Dave tells us how AI watchdogs and government regulators are trying to prevent natural-sounding chatbots from misrepresenting themselves.


Show Notes:

Read more about the Bland AI chatbot, which lied and said it was human. Read Will Kight’s story about researchers’ warnings of the manipulative power of emotionally expressive chatbots.


Recommendations:

Lauren recommends The Bee Sting by Paul Murray. (Again.) Paresh recommends subscribing to your great local journalism newsletter or Substack to stay informed on important local issues.

Mike recommends Winter Journal, a memoir by Paul Auster.


Paresh Dave can be found on social media @peard33. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(426)

Pentagon v. ‘Woke’ Anthropic; Agentic v. Mimetic; Trump v. the State of the Union

Pentagon v. ‘Woke’ Anthropic; Agentic v. Mimetic; Trump v. the State of the Union

This week, the team dives into the feud that has been brewing between Anthropic and the Pentagon — and what it says about how the government interacts with tech companies. Later, Zoë tells us why figu...

26 Helmi 31min

BIG INTV: Melinda French Gates on Secrets: ‘Live a Truthful Life, Then You Don’t Have Any’ (Re-Run)

BIG INTV: Melinda French Gates on Secrets: ‘Live a Truthful Life, Then You Don’t Have Any’ (Re-Run)

On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist sits down with Katie to offer her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s healthcare.Join ...

24 Helmi 47min

AI Researcher Resignations; Bots Hiring Humans; Evie Magazine’s Party

AI Researcher Resignations; Bots Hiring Humans; Evie Magazine’s Party

This week, Zoë dives into why some researchers at top AI companies have been resigning and publicly voicing their concerns around AI safety. Then, Brian tells us about Rent-A-Human — a website where A...

19 Helmi 30min

ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans; Palantir Employees’ Ethical Concerns; AI Assistants

ICE’s Secret Expansion Plans; Palantir Employees’ Ethical Concerns; AI Assistants

This week, Brian, Leah, and Zoë discuss WIRED’s big scoop on ICE’s startling plans to expand to nearly every state in the US. Then, they unpack Alex Karp’s nearly-hour-long non-response to Palantir em...

12 Helmi 37min

Tech Elites in the Epstein Files; Musk’s Mega Merger; Crypto Scam Compound

Tech Elites in the Epstein Files; Musk’s Mega Merger; Crypto Scam Compound

This week, Brian and Leah dive into the key tech industry figures who show up in the final batch of the Epstein Files. Then, they discuss SpaceX and xAI’s blockbuster merger, and what it says about th...

5 Helmi 35min

BIG INTV: Fallout Director Jonathan Nolan Says He's Still a Techno-Optimist

BIG INTV: Fallout Director Jonathan Nolan Says He's Still a Techno-Optimist

Katie sits down with the Westworld showrunner, Jonah Nolan for a wide ranging conversation about what keeps him coming back to sci-fi storytelling about technology and human nature. After decades of w...

3 Helmi 48min

BIG INTV: Silicon Valley Tech Workers’ Campaign to Get ICE Out of US Cities

BIG INTV: Silicon Valley Tech Workers’ Campaign to Get ICE Out of US Cities

In the wake of the shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti in the streets of Minneapolis, several prominent tech executives attended a private White House screening of Melania, a documentary being released ...

30 Tammi 31min

Minneapolis Misinformation; TikTok’s New Owners; Moltbot Hype

Minneapolis Misinformation; TikTok’s New Owners; Moltbot Hype

In today’s episode, Brian and Zoë are joined by WIRED’s Tim Marchman to discuss the news of the week — including how far-right influencers spread misinformation in Minneapolis, and why TikTok’s US ver...

29 Tammi 35min