Choice Blog

Chatbots? No, me neither

I received an email from a company who wanted to come in to talk about how Choice could make the best use of Chatbots.

Chatbots? No, me neither. I had to ask Chloe, our social media and website whizz girl. Apparently a Chatbot is a computer with artificial intelligence so that it can handle dialogue with customers online without the need for a human to answer queries or complaints.

Readers will probably guess, as did Chloe, that the idea wouldn't meet with my wholehearted approval. It is the sort of concept that would have had my mother saying: "Whatever will they think of next," but really meaning what a daft idea.

Then, a couple of days later I received a press release that made me think: Whatever will they think of again! 

That idea is juke boxes playing vinyl records, and apparently Leeds-based company Sound Leisure is the only company in the world making them.

Even though nowadays a mobile phone is in effect a personal juke box, the though of one of those machines humming and whirring as the arm picked out your chosen 45 and carried it down to the waiting stylus took me back at least 50 years.

Sound Leisure have been producing them, and digital versions, since 1978. they have supplied 100,000 juke boxes worldwide. To celebrate their 40th anniversary they have a pop-up exhibition in Leeds' Victoria Gate shopping centre running until April 18.

I might just go and have a look. Pop-up exhibitions, what will they think of next?

What do you think of Chatbots? Got something to say? 

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