A Starbucks barista just proved we trust robots more than people

In robots we trust?

(A screenshot from a Starbucks ad.)

A screenshot from a Starbucks ad.

At a local parking lot, you push a button to get your ticket.

The ticket emerges and a voice says: "Take the ticket."

It's a female voice, attempting to be as erotically alluring as possible. It's a robot female voice, of course, and it always makes me wonder why this parking lot believes it should offer an erotic experience.

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Yet robot voices have become part of our lives. Who hasn't thanked Siri at least once when she's answered a question or found the very song we just asked for? 

But we still like, respect, and trust other humans, right? Even if, at times, it seems we have ill-disguised contempt for most of them.

I fear the emergence of robots may have permanently changed us.

I was moved, you see, by the tale of a Starbucks barista called Drey.

Her location had plumbing problems. She tried to tell customers who rolled up to the drive-thru that it was closed. She tried to tell them again when they offered disbelief.

Then, as she claimed on TikTok, she tried something a little different. She put on a robot voice.

It went like this: "Sorry. Our location is now closed." (Please imagine Siri saying it.)

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