Comment by bonestamp2

Or maybe telecommunications in general need disruption. Instead of having a number that anyone in the world can call, I should provide an abstract identity to a contact. When I approve that entity to contact me, and they get a unique identifier that only their identity can use to contact me, I decide how important their calls are to me:

1. Phone rings no matter what (doctors and other high profile contacts that I do not want to miss a call from)

2. Phone rings unless sleep mode active (family/friends). A second call within 3 minutes rings through in case of emergency.

3. Call goes straight to pre-recorded message (generic or unique to that identity) that tells them to text me their message/request (or when AI gets good enough, and it doesn't seem like it there yet for all accents, it transcribes their voicemail message).

4. Caller can leave a message but it is completely ignored by me and I don't know they left a message unless I go and check my spam folder.

I can change the call handling of any identity at any time, and there should also be an email and text message layer on top of this system so the same rules apply and I choose who can contact me with those methods as well.