WHAT NOW?
Don’t Call “Amy”
by Laura Walcher
Well, I did. I called Amy. Sweetly, I thanked her for her consideration. She’d called to tell me that she could probably get me an appointment to have my car serviced; very appreciated, I’m a busy woman. In fact, I’d been so busy that I wound up..well, I couldn’t wait for her call. I was passing Mossy Toyota anyway, so I stopped by to see her. Get a date on the spot!
If, over at the car place, they’re still laughing at me, well, humpf. All I did was ask whether Amy was in. Thank me for not identifying the otherwise even-tempered service guy who bent over in hysterics. “You’re kidding, right?” he gasped.
I was not kidding.
Nor did I know that Amy is “Amy,” a robotic machine, her warmth and cordiality a technical setup.
If you are now way ahead of me, I don’t want to hear about it. I was anticipating a nice cup of coffee with a new friend when my car would actually be serviced.
If I could, I’d consult with … Steve Jobs? Elon Musk? Jeff Bezos? Thomas Edison? At least, every day, I know a lot about Thomas Edison, whose light bulb, or phonograph or moving picture is in – by now, our wholly understandable daily dose of activity. Could the turn of last century’s man-on-the-street be as boggled by Edison as I am by “Amy”?
Okay: I have to take this “Amy” experience seriously! Before long, the New York Times weekend magazine arrived, with a ferocious white kitten on the cover against a lovely blue background. Well, c’mon! The issue turned out to be – not a review of our pets, animals, their nature, whatever, from which I could have learned something – like gaining an understanding of Mr. Entitlement’s insistent and self-absorbent nature (“Fen” is our black bratty poodle/bichon’s real name, but you knew that). No, comin’ up, a new year, with its challenges to embrace what will continue to be a deluge of techno-development.
The New York Times issue is nearly 100 pages of what we must understand and learn, as more and more of our work and play, communication, research, home/office/world management will be in conjunction with and overseen – yeow – by numerous forms of new technology. I swear, someday I’m going to read it.
Category: feature, Life Style, Local News
