Comment by ashkankiani
4 days ago
Whatsapp has this problem before AI. They scaled without regard for the feasability in handling customer service for everyone, so their solution is to just not do it. I have a personal phone number in Hong Kong which I can't set up for Whatsapp for some reason. No idea why, I've tried figuring it out, only to learn that Whatsapp basically has no customer support. And yet Whatsapp is treated as critical infrastructure in a lot of places these days (as in you have to coordinate on whatsapp).
At this point I might be grateful for an AI if they give it enough permission to tell me why my phone number is impossible to verify, or why they think I'm a malicious actor for using a VPN to protect my traffic.
WhatsApp has become my nemesis. I tried moving from Android to iPhone. The first time it banned me completely and I had to beg their AI to appeal the decision, because I didn't use the required "Move to iOS" app and simply just tried to move my phone number.
After that I tried to move my chats across. I spent several hours a day for ten or so days trying this task. Including moving and unencrypting the chat DB onto my desktop and having Claude scour it for any inconsistencies. Nothing. Had to give up. My Android phone keeps the chats and stays in a drawer with a power cable while my iPhone is now just a "companion device." Trillion dollar companies.
> Trillion dollar companies.
They became trillion dollar companies by treating us like their bitches. And we let them.
Still remember when WhatsApp cost a buck a year and was just simple chat? Those were the good days, until they got offered enough billions to turn it into the same ad-selling machine every successful app will eventually become unless the founders are truly uninterested in money.
4 replies →
> Whatsapp has this problem before AI
Yep. So does AT&T. Real scenario that just happened to me yesterday:
Spectrum is charging me $110 a month for internet. I go to the AT&T site to check if they can provide fibre internet in my area. No matter what address I enter, it says to contact them. I tried neighbouring addresses and, at one point, I even gave AI a try to see if I could get tips. Nothing worked.
I called the number the AT&T coverage page asked me to call (apparently a customer service number). I was "first" in line, but it took them over 15 minutes to get to me. Weird but sure.
This isn't even the kafkaesque part.
I finally get on the phone with someone and he says "Hello, can I get your name?" I give him my first name. He says, "I need your full name to bring up the address." I say, "You don't have my address. I don't have an AT&T account and I'm calling to ask if you provide fibre internet in my area." He says, "I understand. But I need your full name to look up the address." I say, "I don't understand why you would need my full name." I gave him my name again.
He hangs up on me.
Not much different to a useless cycle of talking to a bot, especially when AT&T apparently encourages to move on as quickly as possible from a call if the rep knows they won't close a sale and as they try to improve their "average handle time"
I'm not saying AI wouldn't exacerbate this, and this is reason to believe that this scenario would only be worse under an AI-controlled environment. Certain parts of our society will just become even more closed off and shut people down even faster and with less human effort. Even if AT&T was able to somehow identify my real identity through some governmental totalitarian identity system, I don't think this would change