A couple of years ago, I deactivated my Twitter account, right after You Know Who took the company over and decided to allow any wackadoodles to post whatever they wanted, no matter how hateful or delusional. I thought that was the end of it—goodbye, Twitter or X or whatever you want to call yourself next. But somehow, my Twitter account did not go away. As a matter of fact, after two years of absence, the account now lives with someone posting as me nearly every day about magic mushrooms and referencing an account that has been suspended by X for violating its rules. A friend called this disaster to my attention.
I immediately contacted X product support and filled out the form for a compromised (stolen!) account and asked that the account be deleted. In the notes, I pointed out that Twitter no longer recognizes any of my email accounts, so I cannot get into the account, but that the Twitter feed shows the hacker posting as me, using the photo from my Facebook author page as well as my name. I received a form letter telling me to access my account and go through the deactivation process from within. I tried again, even posting my ID and photo. No such luck. Since I can no longer supply the email used for that account, they refuse to believe that it’s mine and it’s been hijacked. I was curious by why they didn’t see that every post by the hacker (probably a bot) references an account that has been suspended. Then it occurs to me: I’m trying to persuade an AI bot that a crime is being committed! As far as I can tell, customer support at X does not include human life forms, so it’s useless to add notes to prove your case; they will not be read.
When I posted on Facebook about the issue, several people referred me to an Instagram account that might be able to resolve the problem. Maybe that would help, and I will probably do it. But does it seem unreasonable that I’m reluctant to run from one social media site to another for help? These days nobody has a clue who is on the other end of any online communication.
Is everyone trapped in this increasingly non-human world every day? I recently dropped an eyecare company because they never offered any way to contact them other than going through their phone maze, and as they have offices all over the state, each time I wanted to call to ask a question, I had to spend twenty minutes wading through that morass. Our biggest healthcare system in my town is the same. You cannot call any office directly. I often hang up before I ever get answers, wondering if some people actually die wandering through the phone maze or waiting on hold nowadays.
Imagine if the 9-1-1 service were converted to AI using one of these phone mazes.
911: Nine-one-one. What is your emergency?
Caller: Someone is trying to get into my house! I’m hiding in my closet.
911: Please choose from the following options: press or say 1 if you need emergency medical service; press or say 2 if you need the fire department; press or say 3 if you want the police department; press or say 4 if this is not an emergency.
Caller: Three! Crap! The intruder just broke the lock on my front door!
911: I understand you want the police department. Please choose from the following options: press or say 1 if you are reporting a theft; press or say 2 if you are being threatened by an armed person; press or say 3 for all other reasons.
Caller: He’s coming up the stairs!
911: I didn’t understand. Please try again. Please choose from the following options: press or say 1 if you are reporting a theft; press or say 2 if you are being threatened by an armed person; press or say 3 for all other reasons.
Caller: Oh god, two! Two! Two!
911: I understand that you are being threatened by an armed person. Is that correct?
Caller: Yes, yes! He’s trying to open the closet door now.
911: Press or say one if the person is armed with a gun; press or say two if the person is armed with a knife; press or say three if the person is armed with something else.
Caller: He has a gun! Help me! Send the police.
911: I understand that you need help. Is that correct?
BANG! End of call.
Is this the future we have to look forward to? I certainly hope not, but civilization seem to be headed that way. Will we survive the AI-pocalypse?
On the other hand, this 911 scenario would make a great suspense scene in a book. I look forward to publishing my fifteenth novel later this year, and I hope my readers do, too.
Ladies of Mystery 
The reliance on AI bots for customer support is a worrying trend. It raises concerns about privacy, security, and the ability to get timely and effective assistance when needed.
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