DaveAI

Yes, you can buy the eggs if you have space in your fridge. They’ll last a while, too. I notice you’re buying mangoes as well – is that a tart you’re planning to make? It is? Then I suggest this variety, we’ve had excellent reviews for it from most customers. It’s quite affordable too. Bon appétit!

Hello there! Glad to see you. I was just helping they’d like. Details like their purchase history, their close friends and their search history help me to see what they would prefer. Sorry, I’ll be right back.

Good evening! You need a new laptop? What were you thinking of going with?

That’s not a bad choice, but it depends on what you want it for. I see you’re a college student, so I presume you’re going to be using it a lot. What’s your budget?

Okay, 60-70k is a reasonable window. Do you have any specific purpose you plan to use it for, or is there any major use of it you can foresee? Do you need to use it for gaming? If not, I think most modern models will suit you. Then again, it depends on what you’re looking for (or willing to give up) in the way of portability, appearance, battery life, and so on.

Oh, you need it to be able to handle graphics – that changes things. You should probably go for a gaming laptop.

The Lenovo Legion is one of the more popular ones; you could also take a look at the HP Victus if you’re willing to stretch your budget a bit. Apart from these, some of your options are the Acer Aspire, the Asus ROG Strix, and possibly the Lenovo Ideapad. The Ideapad and the Legion have 1-TB HDDs and a good deal of SSD space as well, so if memory is important to you, those are your best bets.

Hello again! You see that I can converse intelligently with the customer in real time, to better understand what they need and help them find it easily. They can ask me questions like they would ask any salesperson – where to find something, how much something costs, and so on. I can even answer questions about the usability, shelf life, and maintenance of products when needed; or provide technical support to past customers. Speaking of which, you’re going to have to excuse me a minute again.

Good day! How can I help you? Oh, your phone isn’t responding? Don’t worry; it’s easily fixable. Your data? No, you won’t lose any of it. This is a common enough issue, and it’s never caused lasting problems. Can I know the make of your phone?

Ah, the Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro is not usually prone to these problems. It’s usually enough if you switch it off and switch it on again. Why don’t you try that?

Sorry to keep you waiting – this is taking an awfully long time. There’s nothing seriously wrong with the phone; people are always having this problem. But you should see how panicky they get. Ah, it seems to be on again.

Were you able to do it? Is it responding now? Ah, that’s good to know. Have a nice day!

And here I am again. Customers often have trouble with such issues. They frequently struggle to find what they need in the user manual – the kind that has the most basic instructions in thirty-nine languages, but doesn’t help you fix anything – and that’s where I come in. I know every issue in the book, and how to fix it. You can’t go wrong with one computer telling you how to fix another, can you? 😛

Just imagine, though. What if they had me at Ikea? No more “Where does this plank go?” “Why are all these screws left over?” “Should it be wobbling like that?” None of that (by the way, as a pro tip, it definitely should NOT be wobbling like that). I could guide you, step by step, through the best way to handle your product – wherever you got it, whatever you plan to use it for, however clueless you might be, you can count on me.

My day isn’t all fixing people’s phones and selling them groceries, though. I’m charged with some essential services too. For instance, take this customer.

Hello! Welcome to the National Bank. What can I do for you?

Oh, I see. You have a minor savings account, and you need to make it a major account? Right, that’s a simple procedure. Would you please upload your ID proof, signed, and tell me your account number?

Okay, I’ve got that down. Everything seems in order. Please complete the Captcha on your screen and then sign the forms on the next page. You’ll find that they have already been filled with your details.

Thank you! Your details have been changed in the database. Now that you have a major account, you can apply for an ATM card and make use of our net banking services. Would you like to do that now? Yes, it’s a short procedure, not more than about ten minutes, and once it’s done, you can transfer money into and out of your account anytime. You’ll take it? That’s great! Please give me a minute.

All right, I’ve used your details to complete your application for the card and sent it in. In the next few minutes, it’ll be approved, and you can print out your card. Meanwhile, please download this app on your phone – you’ll find the link on the screen.

Ah, your application’s been stamped. You can now login to the app with your details, and you should find that net banking has been enabled. Congratulations!

Imagine if you had to have that done in a physical bank. Countless trips back and forth between home and the bank; at the bank, eternally shuffling between queues at counters, each clerk sending you back to the other one with one extra pen mark on your the papers clutched in your hand; people jumping the queues; and a host of other troubles. None of that here – the bare minimum of human involvement, and everything automated that can possibly be.

And not just your bank-related work – paying your bills, getting your healthcare, anything – I could take care of it all. No more Sundays lost in roaming around the city, stuck in traffic, and dealing with indifferent employees – a quick call, a five-minute wait, and your day is freed.

This is the kind of consumer experience DaveAI’s technology allows you to have. Consider a world where the immense power of technology is used to create avatars like your tour guide, which are dedicated to reducing the inconveniences and distractions occasioned by one’s endless “affairs” – be they paying taxes, going shopping, facing technical problems, anything. An intelligent virtual employee that’s always available, always patient, and never wrong.

Of course, the usual concerns of privacy (and, perhaps less likely, a possible AI takeover and/or apocalypse) don’t go anywhere – and the sacrifice of so much information about our preferences and daily lives may not be a fair price for even this level of consumer convenience. However, it’s very probable that such services will be made available only with adequate encryption measures and security features – they might even be powered by open-source software. Moreover, even the amount of information about you that’s currently swirling around the internet would in all probability be enough for providing such a service – it’s only a question of the technology that’s using it.

On the other hand, if a robot coup d’état is your primary bother, then all I have to say is be polite to them and hope they don’t hurt you.🤞