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(431)

BIG INTV: Margaret Atwood on Doomscrolling: ‘I Want to Keep Up With the Latest Doom’

BIG INTV: Margaret Atwood on Doomscrolling: ‘I Want to Keep Up With the Latest Doom’

On this week’s episode of The Big Interview, the author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood talks about Elon Musk, political resistance, and why she still has hope for America’s future.Join WIRED’...

6 Tammi 54min

BIG INTV: CTO Elizabeth Stone On The Future of Netflix: “Personalized, Interactive, Immersive”

BIG INTV: CTO Elizabeth Stone On The Future of Netflix: “Personalized, Interactive, Immersive”

Netflix CTO Elizabeth Stone is an anomaly. Instead of coding, she spent her twenties getting a PhD in economics. She quietly rose through the ranks in Silicon Valley and is now responsible for leading...

23 Joulu 202542min

WIRED Roundup: The Five Tech and Politics Trends That Shaped 2025

WIRED Roundup: The Five Tech and Politics Trends That Shaped 2025

For better or for worse, this year had it all — from the AI industry shaping the global economy and our lives, to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) taking over U.S federal agenc...

19 Joulu 202531min

Introducing A New Chapter for Uncanny Valley

Introducing A New Chapter for Uncanny Valley

As the year draws to an end, Mike and Lauren have some news to share with listeners. But first, they head over to the pool to unwind and reflect on what they’ll be watching for in the tech space this ...

18 Joulu 202525min

BIG INTV: AWS CEO Matt Garman Doesn’t Think AI Should Replace Junior Devs

BIG INTV: AWS CEO Matt Garman Doesn’t Think AI Should Replace Junior Devs

The head of Amazon Web Services has big plans to offer AI tools to businesses, but says that replacing coders with AI is “a non-starter for anyone who's trying to build a long-term company.” Katie sit...

16 Joulu 202545min

WIRED Roundup: Making Art In the AI Era, With Wicked’s Jon. M Chu

WIRED Roundup: Making Art In the AI Era, With Wicked’s Jon. M Chu

You don’t have to be a fan of musicals to know about the Wicked film franchise — it’s been everywhere since the first film launched last year, and that’s exactly how director Jon. M Chu wanted it. At ...

12 Joulu 202526min

AMD CEO Lisa Su Isn’t Afraid of the Competition

AMD CEO Lisa Su Isn’t Afraid of the Competition

Last week, some of the most forward-thinking minds in tech, culture, and politics came together for WIRED’s Big Interview event — a series of live, in-depth conversations with industry leaders. To kic...

11 Joulu 202547min

BIG INTV: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie: ‘We Are a City on the Rise’

BIG INTV: San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie: ‘We Are a City on the Rise’

Since taking office, San Francisco’s mayor has been on a quest to revitalize the city and increase public safety. He’s also kept the National Guard out—with a little help from some very powerful frien...

9 Joulu 202531min