How a chatbot failed my Valentine yet I embrace it
Flower Chatbot Anyone?
My spouse and I celebrated our anniversary. Since her medical research involves machine learning and AI, I celebrated the occasion by arranging a flower delivery using a chatbot on Facebook Messenger!
A chatbot is a computer program that interacts with people using natural language (mimicking human language). It helped me order the flowers, from choosing the flower arrangement to crafting a personal note. Though I met a few obstacles along the way, there was a happy ending.
Chatbot error...
After starting a chat session with the "1-800-FLOWERS.com Assistant" in FB Messenger, I said hi and the bot led me through the process of selecting flowers and scheduling a delivery date. Everything went smoothly until I typed in my wife's name and address on the same line. The chatbot isn't smart enough to tell the difference between the recipient name and the address. This should've prompted an error, but the bot proceeded to booking and payment. It turns out that the chatbot's backend system rejected the recipient name and address altogether but still charged my bank account. To resolve this I called a human staff in their NY office and "re-booked" the entire order. So they charged me a second time. I had to wait for two weeks to remove the first credit charge erroneously done by the chatbot. (Bonus: the office rep wasn't even aware that her company has a chatbot!)
Happy ending...
Despite those pain points, the bouquet turned out beautiful. On balance, I'm impressed with the chatbot's ability to navigate a complex chain of events that included learning from its conversation with customers, coordinating with local florists based on my location, and connecting the purchase through my financial institution.
Future vision
Recently Facebook unveiled a series of enhancements to their chatbot ecosystem at its developer conference in San Jose, CA. One feature allows multiple users to access the same chatbot--so you can order a pizza or taxi ride with your family & friends. This could open up a lot of interesting use cases!
How will we celebrate precious moments in the future? The solution involves some level of artificial intelligence + natural language processing that interact with people who have various needs, and connecting with other devices hooked to the Internet (smartphone, car, health trackers, iPad, bank account, etc).
This is new social platform--an extension of the sharing economy--a way for individuals and communities to reach out and solve problems--from monitoring natural disasters in real-time ---to crowdsourcing foreign aid---to teaching bachelor men great cooking recipes!
