In a move that’ll probably surprise no one, Zoom has begun offering a dedicated AI receptionist service within their business telephone system. And though changes like this seem inevitable, it’s also a potentially troubling sign of the times.
Let’s face it – automation is nothing new. Ever since the original Luddites rebelled against the automated looms and knitting frames in the early 19th century (and arguably before that), we’ve always bemoaned the steady encroachment of industrial automation into the workforce.
But…there’s something very different going on today. For one, the pace of technological innovation has sped up exponentially. In 1999, Ray Kurzweil famously labeled this phenomenon The Law of Accelerating Returns.
And with AI, the danger is, in many respects, unprecedented. With the printing press, and most tech innovations, we only had to worry about job losses. We never had reason to fear a theoretical “singularity”, upon which the rate of technological change is beyond human control.
We’ve tossed around terms like “artificial intelligence” since the 1950s, but until now, even the smartest AI systems could only perform very limited functions. But that’s begun to change.
Throughout the ‘90s and much of the aughts, the idea that AI could actually think for itself – in the same manner as humans – was mostly relegated to killer robot flicks. No one thought that AI could not only pass the Turing test but administer it. We never figured that AI could display distinctly human emotions like jealously, malice, and cruelty.
What does all of this have to do with receptionists? Well, for much of their existence, secretaries/receptionists have performed an important ceremonial function and, depending on the age of technological development, a crucial logistical one, too.
Especially in 2026, we probably don’t need receptionists for their technical acumen. We probably don’t even need them to maintain schedules. Our smartphones can do all that and more – though yes, not everyone has the same comfort level with smartphones and there’s something to be said for delegating administrative functions. But in medical and professional contexts, receptionists provide a degree of comfort, legitimacy, and are the very first thing customers see (or hear).
Many people – perhaps within certain age brackets – immediately think less of companies that can’t afford a human at the “front desk” (figuratively or literally).
Is that a fair conclusion? Perhaps not. But looking towards our fellow humans over computer code for crucial ceremonial (and administrative) functions is a tough habit to break. And if we blithely allow AI to expand its domain like this – and rush the tech along to a potentially terrifying singularity – then we could be engineering our own irrelevance.
