Image used with permission of the copyright holder
Visit the council’s offices in Brent, north-west London, and you’ll be greeted by a virtual assistant in the form of a hologram.
Named Shanice, the new receptionist, who cost the council an estimated £12,000 ($18,500), will offer visitors a friendly smile and (hopefully) answer questions, albeit simple ones pre-programmed into a tablet.
Tap the appropriate request on the screen and Shanice, who is projected onto a thin screen located behind the front desk, will direct you to the appropriate office within the building. However, if you have a question that doesn’t appear on the screen, you’ll probably have to go in search of a real live person to help you sort it out.
Savings?
According to Brent councilor James Denselow, Shanice will save the council around £17,000 ($26,500) a year.
“The best thing is that it will save us a lot of money without compromising our service,” Denselow told the Evening Standard. “Today, we constantly have to look for innovative ways to cut costs, and they are not cutting edge from Shanica.”
However, opposition councilor Alison Hopkins is not entirely happy with the move, calling it a “surprisingly expensive” way of dealing with complaints about poor signage around the new £90m ($141m) town centre, which opened in June.
“As the panel acknowledges, Shanice cannot answer even basic questions and is limited to a small number of pre-recorded scripts,” Hopkins said. “I hope she was told that one of the most common questions is, ‘Where are the restrooms?'”
Critics suggest that any savings are likely to be spent on maintaining Shanica, with the hologram likely to require reprogramming once operators learn more about the types of questions visitors ask. And what about the poor worker Shanice replaced? It can’t be fun to tell your family and friends that you’ve been replaced by a hologram.
Judging by the demonstration video below, Shanice’s explanations are mostly clear and concise. Her information about the seemingly unusual elevator procedure – where you have to keep your finger on the button all the time – it is certainly without ambiguity.
“To use the elevator, call it by holding down the button and holding it until the elevator arrives,” Shanice helpfully explains. “When in the elevator, hold the button until you reach the mezzanine level.”
While such virtual assistants have been seen at some airports reminding passengers what they can and cannot take as hand luggage, this is believed to be the first time a local council in the UK has used a hologram. And it shouldn’t be long before we find out if it’s the last.
[Image: Brent Council]
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Source: newstars.edu.vn