Here’s a revisitation of the Turing test for our modern times.

I wanted to disable the voicemail on my phone, so I used T-Mobile’s tech support chat line. The ordeal took a good half an hour, with minutes passing between each interaction.

My guess is that most of this was automated. For example, after the question “Can I have your PIN please?” I received no answer to my question on how to look it up, but once I wrote “is it possible it’s just 0000?” the answer was immediate. This makes me think of simple pattern matching (in this case, looking for a 4-digit number) in the context of a scripted interaction.

The question is: at which point did I start talking with a human (if ever)?

Please wait while we find an agent to assist you…
You are currently at position number 1 in the queue.

You have been connected to !Roselita M.

Andrea Censi: I want to disable my voicemail. How can I do it?

!Roselita M: Thank you for contacting T-Mobile Live Chat, my name is Rose M. and my rep ID is 145-0911. I’ll be more than happy to assist you. Let me pull up your account first.

!Roselita M: Please give me a few moments while I’m waiting for my resources to pull up.

!Roselita M: Andrea, please bear with me. I still need a few more time. Thanks.

!Roselita M: Thank you for patiently waiting. Can I have the make and model of your device?

Andrea Censi: it’s a samsung

Andrea Censi: cheap flip phone

Andrea Censi: not sure which model

!Roselita M: Is it a T-Mobile phone?

Andrea Censi: yes

Andrea Censi: one of the cheapest

!Roselita M: Can I have your PIN please?

Andrea Censi: uhm.. I don’t remember it. Can I look it up on the phone somwhere?

Andrea Censi: is it possible it’s just 0000?

!Roselita M: Thank you.

!Roselita M: May I have your phone’s IMEI? You can find out the 15-digit IMEI to the phone by dialing *#06# on the phone, or checking under the battery.

Andrea Censi: 01219500371524/802

!Roselita M: Thank you. I will check the procedures for your handset.

!Roselita M: Andrea, I still need more time for this.

!Roselita M: Thank you for waiting. I’ve already disabled the voicemail on your account but please note that it can take up to 2 hours for the system to recognize the change. Will there be anything else?

Andrea Censi: no, thanks, that’s all