Technology not infrequently causes as much frustration as it reduces. We are happy when we use our phones to call out banks and quickly key in our account numbers and learn the balances in our accounts. We are dismayed when we cycle through menu after men

Technology not infrequently causes as much frustration as it reduces. We are happy when we use our phones to call out banks and quickly key in our account numbers and learn the balances in our accounts. We are dismayed when we cycle through menu after menu not finding the right one to handle the problem that we feel is unique. And post purchase, we often wonder if we made the right decision. Let’s take as an example the case of technical support for consumer-purchased computer software. When we purchase something online, we expect to be able to download the software and be able to use it without reading the manuals that usually accompany these purchases. We also know that if the software does not work as expected, we become frustrated and can either share that frustration when we seek help from ‘Technical Support’ or share our post- purchase remorse with the seller. Technology to the rescue! There are a lot of options available that are intended to help us overcome these feelings of frustration and solve our user problems. In addition to calling Tech Support (wherever it may be, often somewhere west of Bangladesh) we can access answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by searching through a data base or though other interactive technologies. If you are online, help in an instant can be gained by going to a private chat room. Someone will answer and converse with you; of course, the technological wrinkle is that it may not be a person with whom you’re interacting, but a form of semi-intelligent computer-based agent programmed to interact like a live help-person. Ingenious, no doubt, but not perhaps humanity’s greatest solution to the frustration problem. As an illustration, try going to http://www.isrameds.com and searching for the price of a prescription drug. This is not an effort to push either the website or a product; it’s just useful to see AI in action as you contemplate this problem. This kind of technology consisting of the hardware and software that is used to compile Qs and then present answers to those standard Qs is often called a "chatbot". Here are some interesting discussions of this set of tools that you should consider: http://www.alicebot.org/ Learn about Artificial Intelligence, AIML Bots, and Chat Bots http://www-ai.ijs.si/eliza/eliza.html DMOZ. (2011). Open Directory Project. Retrieved from http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Artificial_Intelligence/Natural_Language/Chatterbots/ You should also review the latest information from AAAI on marketing applications of AI technology: Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence . Marketing, Customer Relations/Service & E-Commerce. Retrieved from http://www.aaai.org/AITopics/html/market.html The background information has links to a number of resources relating to customer service and support and the technologies related to this issue. Using the internet and the library you can probably surface other information that will help you understand what is in play here. Case Expectation: When you’ve had a chance to read through these articles, and look through the background material for additional information regarding this phenomenon and other parts of the IT planning process, and consult any other resources that seem helpful to you on this matter, please compose a 2-3 page paper on the topic: General Case and SLP Paper Writing Guidelines "Agree or disagree: Chatbox technology can provide effective CRM without customer frustration and cognitive dissonance. Defend your position."