Read the following article from a website.
Banks, phone companies and some government help lines are testing artificial intelligence agents that answer routine calls without a human on the line. Supporters say the change could cut wait times from forty minutes to under five. Critics worry about jobs, privacy and callers who struggle with machines, and a provincial committee in New Brunswick has begun hearings on whether new rules are needed.
Ylva Rydell, who runs digital operations for a large lender, says long waits are costing companies their customers. “People do not leave a bank because of interest rates. They leave because nobody answered the phone,” she said. “Let the machine reset passwords and check balances, and let our people handle the hard conversations,” Rydell said. She says every caller would have a button to reach a person at any time.
Gaetan Robitaille, a union steward at a call centre in Moncton, says the easy calls are how new staff learn the job. “Nobody starts on the angry customer with a frozen account. You start on fifty password resets a day, and that is how you learn to stay calm,” Robitaille said. “Take away the simple calls, and in five years there will be nobody trained for the hard ones.” He says he could accept machines answering calls overnight.
Meilin Quan, who works for the provincial privacy office, says callers have a right to know who, or what, they are talking to. “The machine has to say it is a machine in the first sentence, in plain language. Nobody should find out halfway through the call,” she said. “And every decision it makes about an account must be recorded so a person can challenge it,” Quan said. Hakim Rasheed, a consumer advocate, wants one firm rule for the most worried callers. “If anyone mentions fraud or says they cannot pay a bill, a human being must call them back the same day. A chatbot cannot calm someone who has just lost their savings,” Rasheed said. He says older callers often hang up when they feel rushed.
Using the drop-down menu (▾), choose the best option according to the information given on the website.
Paragraph four mainly describes 2..
All of the people quoted seem to agree that machines 3..
Gaetan Robitaille warns that taking away the simple calls would lead to 4..
According to Ylva Rydell, people leave a bank 5..
The following is a comment by a visitor to the website page. Complete the comment by choosing the best option to fill in each blank.
AI explanationShows the answer. Tap to open.
Correct Answer: computer programs taking routine phone calls
Why this is correct: Companies are testing artificial intelligence agents that answer routine calls without a human. Every speaker talks about that change.
Passage Reference: testing artificial intelligence agents that answer routine calls without a human on the line
Tips: Check each option against the quotes from Rydell, Robitaille, Quan and Rasheed. Keep the one that every speaker is responding to.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a strike at a call centre in Moncton: Robitaille works at a call centre in Moncton, but no strike is mentioned.
- new fees for calling a bank: Nobody in the article talks about fees for calls.
- a rule about bank opening hours: Nobody in the article talks about when banks open.
Correct Answer: calls for clear rules to protect callers
Passage Reference: callers have a right to know who, or what, they are talking to ... a human being must call them back the same day
Why this is correct: In paragraph four, Quan wants callers told they are talking to a machine. Rasheed wants a person to call back worried callers.
Tips: Read “Paragraph four” and describe its job to yourself in a few words. Then keep only the option that matches what those lines do.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a bank’s case for answering calls faster: Rydell makes this case in paragraph two.
- the cost of running a call centre: No paragraph gives the cost of running a call centre.
- the hearings a provincial committee has begun: The hearings are mentioned in paragraph one.
Correct Answer: could take at least some of the calls
Passage Reference: Let the machine reset passwords ... He says he could accept machines answering calls overnight. ... The machine has to say it is a machine in the first sentence ... If anyone mentions fraud or says they cannot pay a bill, a human being must call them back the same day
Why this is correct: Rydell wants machines on routine calls, and Robitaille could accept them overnight. Quan sets rules for machines, and Rasheed wants a person only in some cases.
Tips: Test each option on Rydell, then Robitaille, then Quan, then Rasheed. Drop it as soon as one of them would not accept it.
Why the other options are wrong:
- should never make account decisions: Quan wants machine decisions recorded so people can challenge them. Nobody bans them.
- should answer only calls at night: Only Robitaille limits machines to overnight calls.
- will soon replace most call centre staff: Nobody predicts this. Rydell wants her staff to handle the hard conversations.
Correct Answer: nobody being ready for difficult calls later
Passage Reference: the easy calls are how new staff learn the job ... in five years there will be nobody trained for the hard ones
Why this is correct: Robitaille says new staff learn on simple calls. Without them, in a few years nobody will be trained for the hard ones.
Tips: Read Robitaille’s quoted lines closely. Choose what he predicts, and drop any option that no speaker in the article gives.
Why the other options are wrong:
- callers waiting even longer on hold: Long waits are Rydell’s problem, and she wants machines to fix them.
- staff refusing to work overnight: Robitaille says he could accept machines overnight. Nobody says staff would refuse.
- angry customers leaving the bank: Customers leaving is Rydell’s point, not Robitaille’s prediction.
Correct Answer: when nobody answers their call
Passage Reference: People do not leave a bank because of interest rates. ... They leave because nobody answered the phone
Why this is correct: Rydell says people do not leave a bank because of interest rates. They leave because nobody answered the phone.
Tips: Check each option against Rydell’s quotes alone. Remove any that she denies or that she never says.
Why the other options are wrong:
- because of high interest rates: Rydell says the opposite: people do not leave because of interest rates.
- when machines answer the phone: Rydell wants machines to answer routine calls. She never says this drives people away.
- after a bad decision on their account: Account decisions come up with Quan, not as Rydell’s point.
Correct Answer: under five minutes
Passage Reference: Supporters say the change could cut wait times from forty minutes to under five.
Why this is correct: Supporters say wait times could fall from forty minutes to under five.
Tips: Two waiting times appear together. Choose the one that describes the wait after the change.
Why the other options are wrong:
- about ten minutes: Ten minutes is not in the article. The new wait is shorter than that.
- two minutes: The article says under five, not a fixed two minutes.
- fifteen minutes: Fifteen minutes is not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: check balances
Passage Reference: Let the machine reset passwords and check balances
Why this is correct: Rydell says the machine could reset passwords and check balances.
Tips: The lender’s manager names two simple jobs for the machine. The commenter gives one of them.
Why the other options are wrong:
- update addresses: Rydell does not mention addresses.
- order new cards: Ordering cards is not one of the jobs Rydell names.
- book appointments: Appointments are not mentioned in the article.
Correct Answer: button
Passage Reference: She says every caller would have a button to reach a person at any time.
Why this is correct: Rydell says every caller would have a button to reach a person at any time.
Tips: Find what the lender’s manager promises to callers who want a human. Notice the tool she names.
Why the other options are wrong:
- hotline: Rydell does not mention a separate hotline.
- email: Email is not mentioned in the article.
- code: Rydell does not talk about a code.
Correct Answer: plain language
Passage Reference: The machine has to say it is a machine in the first sentence, in plain language
Why this is correct: Quan says the machine has to say it is a machine in the first sentence, in plain language.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the privacy official’s rule. Find her quote about how the machine must identify itself.
Why the other options are wrong:
- a recorded message: Quan does not ask for a separate recording. The privacy official wants the machine to say it plainly on the call.
- a written notice: Quan wants the machine to say it out loud on the call, not in a written notice.
- a text message: Quan talks about what the machine says on the call, not a text message.
Correct Answer: rushed
Passage Reference: He says older callers often hang up when they feel rushed.
Why this is correct: Rasheed says older callers often hang up when they feel rushed.
Tips: The commenter is repeating the advocate’s point about older callers. Find the feeling that makes them end the call.
Why the other options are wrong:
- ignored: Rasheed does not say older callers feel ignored.
- confused: Confused is not the word Rasheed uses.
- lonely: Loneliness is not mentioned in the article.
The rest of this explanation is for members. Sign in free to read why the other options are wrong, key words and tips.
Sign in to read the full explanation