Meet Amy, a Virtual Meeting Aide – will AI replace some outsourcing?

When I initially saw this article, I thought it would discuss using an outsourced assistant via a freelancing site or other application.  But it’s not – it’s about artificial intelligence.  This led me to wonder how much of the work we now outsource will be done using AI in the near future….particularly the “busy work” many of us have done on Mechanical Turk and others….

“I recently got my own personal assistant, called Amy. My new helper is amazingly attentive and diligent, but also a bit strange. For one thing, she seems completely obsessed with organizing meetings and pretty much refuses to talk about anything else.”

via Meet Amy, a Virtual Meeting Aide | MIT Technology Review.

The Price For A Videophone in 1955 Was $44,000 Adjusted for Inflation

“We’ve been imagining a future of ubiquitous videophones for over a century. And today it’s considered no big deal that we’re able to make video calls with devices that we carry around in our pockets. But it took a while to get to that point. One reason? It was incredibly expensive.”

Interesting article, but I think there were many more reasons.  Video did not have bandwidth, and it was more frustrating than it was useful.  But cost was certainly a challenge as well!

via The Price For A Videophone in 1955 Was $44,000 Adjusted for Inflation.