Boston Globe rant against VR software

This morning we've been passing around references to that Boston Globe opinion article titled "Virtually Annoying".  It's by Robert Kutner and appeared over the weekend in their Op-Ed pages.  It concludes:

[I]n the service economy, virtual humans are still a plague. So if you feel you spend too much time on hold or talking idiotically to a petulant machine, talk back -- and not just to the phone company.

All of us agree that too many VR systems are exactly what Kutner says: annoying. There are even sites that help you figure out how to get through to a real operator more quickly.

Fil suggests looking at the Nass & Brave book Wired For Speech, that suggests how properly-designed personas can help a lot.