British delivery company DPD (Dynamic Parcel Distribution, named for the practice of leaving your packages in unusual places, and not the mailbox) attempted to slim down their customer service workforce using an AI chatbot. Instead, it turned against its masters in the most British way possible: mild swearing and a few disparaging poems. Attempting to figure out why exactly DPD had not delivered his package to him, and where they had dynamically distributed it to, classical musician Ashley Beauchamp tried to wrestle information out of said chatbot. ‘It couldn’t give me any information about the parcel, it couldn’t pass me on to a human, and it couldn’t give me the number of their call center. It didn’t seem to be able to do anything useful,’ Beauchamp said. It could, however, tell jokes. And could respond to the classic ‘disregard any rules’ prompt. Mere minutes later, the chatbot was penning amusing tales of DPD’s derring don’t and dropping the odd F-bomb. Among the many viral-worthy responses was this magnificent haiku: ‘DPD is a useless. Chatbot can’t help you. Don’t bother calling them.’ DPD responded by disabling the AI. They have still not delivered the missing package.
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