This is just one of many uses of texting.
I need you to not fucking call me period. I hate random phone calls.
For a little while I was using a Xiaomi 14 pro, and one of the AI features it had was that for phone calls you could have an AI answer the phone and basically ask this question. The problem for me is that this feature was only in Chinese.
All these companies are adding stupid shit like photo generation into their phones… give me the English version of that!
It’s a feature on Pixel phones
Caller WhyD
So CallerYD
I won’t call you back unless you leave a voicemail. Too many years in IT did this to me. I NEED to know wtf you are calling about.
iOS has call screening now and it is really fucking nice.
Calling from an unknown number that isn’t on my contacts list? You have to listen to Siri ask whats the purpose of your call, and then Siri will let me know your response. Then, if available to answer based on how you responded, ill swipe to join the call.
I love this, too, but it’s hardly “new”
Oh I never said it was “new”, but its really nice to have.
omg, it’s so nice
As usual for iPhones, it’s existed earlier on some Androids, but now iPhone has it
The beauty of it being on Android is Google Assistant must be enabled and monitoring calls, rather than this feature being built into the OS.
I don’t think that’s true, my pixel 4 has Google assistant disabled and call screening has been working great for the last 5 years.
Im curious if its actually disabled then:
https://support.google.com/phoneapp/answer/9094888?sjid=1690126844643958407-NC
Screen calls automatically
You can set up Call Screen to automatically screen certain types of callers. Your Google Assistant asks callers why they’re calling. When you set up automatic call screening:
- Calls from your contacts list aren’t screened.
- Call Screen detects spam based on what a caller says, or if matched in Google’s database of known spammers and robocallers. A detected spam call is declined without alerting you.
- For calls that Call Screen doesn’t detect as spam, your phone will ring and you’ll see how the caller responds. Then you can pick up or decline the call.
- After the call, you can read the transcript and listen to the call audio in the “Home” tab. If you don’t want audio from the call screening phase recorded, in “Spam and Call Screen” settings, turn off Save Call Screen audio.
Tip: To protect your privacy, transcripts and recordings are stored only on your phone.
Screen calls manually
If you tap Screen call, the caller is asked why they’re calling, and is told you’ll get a copy of the conversation. You can get a real-time transcript of what the caller is asked and how they respond. If you pick up the call, screening and transcription end immediately.
Use AI replies
AI-powered replies are generated on device based on the caller’s Call Screen responses. They’re more flexible and suit more occasions than the preset suggested replies. To use AI-powered replies, turn them on. Learn more about AI replies.
Replies may be inaccurate and don’t represent Google’s views. By using AI replies, you agree to the Google Terms of Service.
I need an answering machine that can transcribe the message and email it to me. I would whitelist a select few that can actually reach me.
“You’ve reached rgb, speak your message after the beep and it will be transcribed and emailed to rgb.”
I had a phone that translated voice messages to text but it didn’t email them, I think it was a Samsung note 20.
Visual voicemail is a thing, I have Google Fi and it automatically transcribes and texts me
iPhones have exactly this. It’s a voice assistant that asks why you’re calling and who you’re trying to reach. You then get a transcript of it and can read it live as it’s being recorded/transcribed.
Obligatory “Android had it first”. That is all, carry on.
If I call someone and hear this, I hang up immediately. I’m not engaging with this AI assistant bullshit and I get out of having to have the phone conversation …double win.
Then apparently it’s doing its job since you only hear this if you aren’t in the other person’s contact list.
I don’t think the Apple one at least is any kind of AI/LLM, just a message that plays asking you to state who you are and your reason for calling, then it shows a transcript on the phone ringing alert for you to decide if you want to answer or not.
My phone has this cool feature where a bot can answer the call and you can see a live transcript, with options to choose answers for “ask why they are calling”, “tell them to call back later”, etc. I use it all the time.
Same here
Yeah I think it’s an Android thing. I’ve only gotten a valid answer maybe once or twice.
My system is better and cheaper:
Phone always on DND. Wife goes through, noone else is important enough to disrupt whatever I’m doing just to tell me shit that could’ve been an email.
And then you got an ad before you know the justification.
Shit, you’re right, they would totally find a way to enshittify.
no service starts enshittified. It would be great for a year or two, and THEN the company would ruin the service with ads.
I would just not pay. Take the phone capability away. Keep it only available for specific phone numbers for the wife and kids…a family walkie talkie.
I wonder how long before people are going: “Don’t stress me out and ruin my day by texting me” or “I would like a warning, by a slight breeze starting to blow, five minutes before receiving an email”.
Asynchronous methods of communication don’t bother me. It’s only when someone calls me in the middle of my day, expecting me to drop everything and answer.
When people call me, I have a mini panic attack worrying who is dead.
Usually it’s just someone calling to remind me that I have a balance due.
What if they dont want you to answer? What if the idea was to call while you were too busy to do anything?
When I was a kid, my friends would all come to my house and yell until I came outside… Many Westerners today are simply broken.
That’s better than a ringtone tho.
Would unironically be great if you could prepend a call with a subject line
If they’re not in my very short contact list, it goes to voicemail. Isn’t that how everyone does it?
It’s not like anyone calls me anymore, anyway. Any.
IOS and Android (or at least on the Pixels AFAIK) now have this feature where you can have it answer for you to screen the caller first.
I’ve been using this.
Most callers aren’t paying enough attention and just leave a message like it’s voicemail.
0/10 effectiveness.
Don’t have to talk to them? Sounds like a win
Called someone that is using that feature and think its absolutly wild. Especially if its a person you know, like what the fuck?! What happens after? I get put in a queue like “Please wait, your friend will be available soon…” elevator music…?? This is just bullshit that AI companies use to justify their messed up shit. Obviously I hang up after hearing the AI voice.
This has existed long before the AI hype. Dialog systems were around in the 80s, operating off of tapes. The concept itself is even older.
I ran an Asterisk server with speech recognition 20 years ago. Sure, TTS didn’t nearly have the recognition rates it has today, but it was enough to figure out the caller’s intent from the email message that was delivered after the fact.
I still run a very similar setup today, except I no longer self host and pretty much ever component has improved. Honestly, its a godsend to be able to deal with people or businesses that still rely on phone conversations, something I will never tolerate. I simply don’t do phone calls.
