This is very important issue. Automated "customer service" is invariably awful, up there with "chats" as nearly useless and maddening. I know how to deal with bureaucracy, including government agencies. And I now have to use all of my skills to find a human to help me. I often think about my mother when she started losing her memory and sharpness, trying to navigate all the scammers and "button-pushing" on her landline just trying to function in the world. It is terrible that government has become more of a predator than a protector of vulnerable citizens. We absolutely need to change this, and as this piece points out, the first step must be that AI in public service agencies is accountable and regulated.
It's not just government agencies who present this problem to its "customers."
It is far more likely to run into this problem with corporations, who have no interest in doing anything for their customers, other than to fleece them of their money. There are several ways in which they do this:
1. Automated systems which are likely to give callers the "royal run around" until they give up, totally frustrated.
2. Automated systems which connect customers which a number that is not being answered at all, or puts you in a holding pattern for up to two hours, which is the longest I have ever held before I gave up.
3. Using live "customer service" personnel, who speak such bad English, or have such a strong accent that no one can understand them.
4. Hiring live "customer service" personnel who either are truly dumber than a door nail or pretend to be, to get rid of customers they are supposed to be helping.
5. Hiring any live "customer service" personnel they can find to work for the atrocious hourly wages they are paying and getting the same results as in 4.
Thanks for outlining the symptoms - maddening, I agree. For both government or businesses, the hard question is how to improve the Kafkaesque systems so citizens and customers are served. My hope is that somewhere between well-designed regulations and measurement of outcomes we'll find a better way.
I don't know how, but I actually forgot the biggest customer service ripoff I experienced just in September 2025. This was with BestBuy customer service.
I returned an item within 13 days of buying it, but the cashier supervisor refused to issue a credit to my credit card, saying I had not returned it within their specified time (which is 14 days). He used his fingers to count the days! After much arguing, I finally accepted the "store credit card," but called their customer service as soon as I got home. The amount in question is just under $107.00.
This is where it gets really interesting. The woman I spoke to agreed with me that I had returned the article within the allowed time frame. After getting my name and other personal data, she put me on hold several times. Finally she came back, cited the last four digits of my credit card number and told me a credit would be issued to my credit card.
After several weeks of waiting, the promised credit had not been issued.
I wrote a letter to the customer service honcho at BestBuy's HQ in Minneapolis in Nov. 2025, told them I would never buy anything from them again after having spent tens of thousands over the years buying large and small appliances and computers from them - I am still waiting to hear from them.
Needless to say, I am not holding my breath. A few months ago, I received a coupon for $5.00 off, which they can stick somewhere. In September 2026, my renewal for Microsoft 365 comes due, which will still leave me with a store credit, albeit a much smaller one.
After that, I'm going to contact Microsoft and get annual renewals directly through them. Never will BestBuy make one penny off of me in the future.
"Enforcement depends on a lawsuit, and the people these systems hit hardest, the poor, the sick, and the disabled, are the least able to bring one."
You forgot the elderly and people of colour in that list. And the many who are in multiple categories.
And yes, you might believe that all this was just an accidental oversight, a minor programming glitch, which can be fixed now that it's been identified.
Or you can believe that this is part of a deliberate policy by the current administration to systematically kill off Americans who depend on government services and income support to stay alive.
The massive assault by Musk's DOGE was aimed at identifying exactly such people, by downloading and cross-referencing the previously (and deliberately) siloed databases of different agencies. You *do* remember that, don't you?
And isn't all of this implicit in Project 2025 somewhere? It's in my Downloads folder somewhere, and I really should re-read it, since I can't exactly ask Mr. Vought or Mr. Musk.
And once again, I will be very glad I'm Canadian (since I'm a senior who depends on my government pension and medical care).
This is horrifying. "Due process means that before the state takes your liberty or your property, it owes you a reason, a chance to respond, and a human being obligated to listen. That promise exists because the government is powerful — and often wrong. A right you cannot contest is not one you truly hold." I am seeing due process being eviscerated in so many ways and areas, not the least for those detained and incarcerated by ICE. Thank you, Mr. Steiger, for publicizing this issue. I had no idea this automation was so prevalent, as well as so malevolent. The frustration of individuals facing these "machines" must push stress through the roof.
So what happened to Robert Austin & his young daughter? Why did this whet our appetites for answers & provide zero? Disappointing, unlikely to lead to a global movement : < {
Thanks for asking, Shirley — I tried to find one. The last reporting on Mr. Austin is Lois Parshley's Feb 2025 Jacobin piece, which has him two years into the loop: in and out of temporary housing, car gone, daughter now a toddler, still being asked to re-upload the same paperwork.
He isn't a named plaintiff in any case, so there's no public docket and TRLA doesn't publish client outcomes. I've reached out to Parshley and to TRLA's El Paso office; if I hear back, I'll post here.
The wider record since hasn't gotten better: the FTC complaint against Deloitte's TIERS system is still pending, the One Big Beautiful Bill is paying Deloitte and Accenture more to tighten eligibility, and Texas's six-month re-verification kicks in this year. Austin's story is the system working as designed, not the exception.
We supposedly “won” the Cold War, only to have our government now resemble the Soviet State. AI is the rope our masters sell us to allow them to hang us with. Freedom — an essential ingredient in any calorie-free word salad, along with “limited government,” “states’ rights,” “constitution,” “free market” and “bill of rights,” to make us feel good about ourselves while living in The Happiest Place on Earth. Your call is important to us. Stay on the line to complete a survey to tell us how we did and confirm your neck size.🫤
Does saying the word “Agent” ever help? I know we’re talking about government services here, but the same applies to corporations as well. It’s an endless loop of non- solutions when I call about my internet service. The Help Desk is a joke. And apparently it doesn’t exist on a government website.
This happened to Great Britain's postal system. People went to jail, were bankrupted, and in some cases died. See the excellent movie, Mr. Bates and the Post Office.
Yes, I’m not on Medicare, but I had this happen with my insurance. For a colonoscopy, it approved the doctor’s bill as preventive (insurance paid, I didn’t), decided the anesthesiology services were for diagnostic purposes (I paid a deductible), and disallowed the hospital fees, which were the largest charge, so that the hospital did not get paid. It said the hospital did not get preauthorization—I question whether this is reasonable for a preventive service. But it save the insurance company from paying and I could not be billed.
Who can’t relate to this? But the appeal system didn’t work for me. I had a preventive colonoscopy under an ACA (Affordable Care Act) plan. United Healthcare botched the claims processing, no doubt through an automated claims processing system. Four claims were decided in different ways. Very confusing and impossible to get corrected through customer service. My first appeal was denied. With a second appeal, the primary doctor’s claim (gastroenterologist) was approved as a preventive service. This should have resolved all the other claims. But it didn’t. Further appeals, including to the state regulator—Illinois Department of Insurance, got nowhere. The outcome was that I paid a deductible for anesthesiology, and United Healthcare used the excuse of “pre-authorization required” to disallow the hospital fees (hospital did not get paid, yet the doctor got paid—how does this make sense). I finally received a UHC document, via the state regulator, clearly showing, if one reads it correctly, that anesthesiology services are preventive (no deductible) if the doctor’s service is preventive. But no one was listening to me. I was defeated. The issue wasn’t about the $300 I paid for anesthesiology. I wanted the system to work as it was supposed to. It didn’t and there was nothing I could do. I was surprised the state regulator was so ineffective, that it didn’t seem to understand ACA insurance. I tried to draw its attention to federal guidance. But no one was listening. The regulator agreed with the insurance company that the anesthesiology service was not preventive. I noticed that the regulator was on a first name basis with counterparts in the insurance company but kept me, the consumer, at arms length. Next stop—elected representatives in Congress.
This is very important issue. Automated "customer service" is invariably awful, up there with "chats" as nearly useless and maddening. I know how to deal with bureaucracy, including government agencies. And I now have to use all of my skills to find a human to help me. I often think about my mother when she started losing her memory and sharpness, trying to navigate all the scammers and "button-pushing" on her landline just trying to function in the world. It is terrible that government has become more of a predator than a protector of vulnerable citizens. We absolutely need to change this, and as this piece points out, the first step must be that AI in public service agencies is accountable and regulated.
It's not just government agencies who present this problem to its "customers."
It is far more likely to run into this problem with corporations, who have no interest in doing anything for their customers, other than to fleece them of their money. There are several ways in which they do this:
1. Automated systems which are likely to give callers the "royal run around" until they give up, totally frustrated.
2. Automated systems which connect customers which a number that is not being answered at all, or puts you in a holding pattern for up to two hours, which is the longest I have ever held before I gave up.
3. Using live "customer service" personnel, who speak such bad English, or have such a strong accent that no one can understand them.
4. Hiring live "customer service" personnel who either are truly dumber than a door nail or pretend to be, to get rid of customers they are supposed to be helping.
5. Hiring any live "customer service" personnel they can find to work for the atrocious hourly wages they are paying and getting the same results as in 4.
Thanks for outlining the symptoms - maddening, I agree. For both government or businesses, the hard question is how to improve the Kafkaesque systems so citizens and customers are served. My hope is that somewhere between well-designed regulations and measurement of outcomes we'll find a better way.
I don't know how, but I actually forgot the biggest customer service ripoff I experienced just in September 2025. This was with BestBuy customer service.
I returned an item within 13 days of buying it, but the cashier supervisor refused to issue a credit to my credit card, saying I had not returned it within their specified time (which is 14 days). He used his fingers to count the days! After much arguing, I finally accepted the "store credit card," but called their customer service as soon as I got home. The amount in question is just under $107.00.
This is where it gets really interesting. The woman I spoke to agreed with me that I had returned the article within the allowed time frame. After getting my name and other personal data, she put me on hold several times. Finally she came back, cited the last four digits of my credit card number and told me a credit would be issued to my credit card.
After several weeks of waiting, the promised credit had not been issued.
I wrote a letter to the customer service honcho at BestBuy's HQ in Minneapolis in Nov. 2025, told them I would never buy anything from them again after having spent tens of thousands over the years buying large and small appliances and computers from them - I am still waiting to hear from them.
Needless to say, I am not holding my breath. A few months ago, I received a coupon for $5.00 off, which they can stick somewhere. In September 2026, my renewal for Microsoft 365 comes due, which will still leave me with a store credit, albeit a much smaller one.
After that, I'm going to contact Microsoft and get annual renewals directly through them. Never will BestBuy make one penny off of me in the future.
It would be helpful to name the six states that are using the WISeR AI program. I looked it up: Arizona, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Washington
Thank you Christine.
"Enforcement depends on a lawsuit, and the people these systems hit hardest, the poor, the sick, and the disabled, are the least able to bring one."
You forgot the elderly and people of colour in that list. And the many who are in multiple categories.
And yes, you might believe that all this was just an accidental oversight, a minor programming glitch, which can be fixed now that it's been identified.
Or you can believe that this is part of a deliberate policy by the current administration to systematically kill off Americans who depend on government services and income support to stay alive.
The massive assault by Musk's DOGE was aimed at identifying exactly such people, by downloading and cross-referencing the previously (and deliberately) siloed databases of different agencies. You *do* remember that, don't you?
And isn't all of this implicit in Project 2025 somewhere? It's in my Downloads folder somewhere, and I really should re-read it, since I can't exactly ask Mr. Vought or Mr. Musk.
And once again, I will be very glad I'm Canadian (since I'm a senior who depends on my government pension and medical care).
This is horrifying. "Due process means that before the state takes your liberty or your property, it owes you a reason, a chance to respond, and a human being obligated to listen. That promise exists because the government is powerful — and often wrong. A right you cannot contest is not one you truly hold." I am seeing due process being eviscerated in so many ways and areas, not the least for those detained and incarcerated by ICE. Thank you, Mr. Steiger, for publicizing this issue. I had no idea this automation was so prevalent, as well as so malevolent. The frustration of individuals facing these "machines" must push stress through the roof.
So what happened to Robert Austin & his young daughter? Why did this whet our appetites for answers & provide zero? Disappointing, unlikely to lead to a global movement : < {
Thanks for asking, Shirley — I tried to find one. The last reporting on Mr. Austin is Lois Parshley's Feb 2025 Jacobin piece, which has him two years into the loop: in and out of temporary housing, car gone, daughter now a toddler, still being asked to re-upload the same paperwork.
He isn't a named plaintiff in any case, so there's no public docket and TRLA doesn't publish client outcomes. I've reached out to Parshley and to TRLA's El Paso office; if I hear back, I'll post here.
The wider record since hasn't gotten better: the FTC complaint against Deloitte's TIERS system is still pending, the One Big Beautiful Bill is paying Deloitte and Accenture more to tighten eligibility, and Texas's six-month re-verification kicks in this year. Austin's story is the system working as designed, not the exception.
We supposedly “won” the Cold War, only to have our government now resemble the Soviet State. AI is the rope our masters sell us to allow them to hang us with. Freedom — an essential ingredient in any calorie-free word salad, along with “limited government,” “states’ rights,” “constitution,” “free market” and “bill of rights,” to make us feel good about ourselves while living in The Happiest Place on Earth. Your call is important to us. Stay on the line to complete a survey to tell us how we did and confirm your neck size.🫤
Does saying the word “Agent” ever help? I know we’re talking about government services here, but the same applies to corporations as well. It’s an endless loop of non- solutions when I call about my internet service. The Help Desk is a joke. And apparently it doesn’t exist on a government website.
This happened to Great Britain's postal system. People went to jail, were bankrupted, and in some cases died. See the excellent movie, Mr. Bates and the Post Office.
Are there no religious groups that can help? Why is government subsidy always the only answer?
Seriously I don’t understand 😊
"Computer says no" is only getting worse thanks to the "AI" idiocy.
Just pitiful.
So if Medicare denies a claim as an “uncovered” charge, the provider cannot bill the patient and the providers lose even more money?
Yes, I’m not on Medicare, but I had this happen with my insurance. For a colonoscopy, it approved the doctor’s bill as preventive (insurance paid, I didn’t), decided the anesthesiology services were for diagnostic purposes (I paid a deductible), and disallowed the hospital fees, which were the largest charge, so that the hospital did not get paid. It said the hospital did not get preauthorization—I question whether this is reasonable for a preventive service. But it save the insurance company from paying and I could not be billed.
Our system is a health insurance system. Like casinos where the house always wins.
Who can’t relate to this? But the appeal system didn’t work for me. I had a preventive colonoscopy under an ACA (Affordable Care Act) plan. United Healthcare botched the claims processing, no doubt through an automated claims processing system. Four claims were decided in different ways. Very confusing and impossible to get corrected through customer service. My first appeal was denied. With a second appeal, the primary doctor’s claim (gastroenterologist) was approved as a preventive service. This should have resolved all the other claims. But it didn’t. Further appeals, including to the state regulator—Illinois Department of Insurance, got nowhere. The outcome was that I paid a deductible for anesthesiology, and United Healthcare used the excuse of “pre-authorization required” to disallow the hospital fees (hospital did not get paid, yet the doctor got paid—how does this make sense). I finally received a UHC document, via the state regulator, clearly showing, if one reads it correctly, that anesthesiology services are preventive (no deductible) if the doctor’s service is preventive. But no one was listening to me. I was defeated. The issue wasn’t about the $300 I paid for anesthesiology. I wanted the system to work as it was supposed to. It didn’t and there was nothing I could do. I was surprised the state regulator was so ineffective, that it didn’t seem to understand ACA insurance. I tried to draw its attention to federal guidance. But no one was listening. The regulator agreed with the insurance company that the anesthesiology service was not preventive. I noticed that the regulator was on a first name basis with counterparts in the insurance company but kept me, the consumer, at arms length. Next stop—elected representatives in Congress.