The AI assistant was offering me any help I needed. All I wanted was a living, breathing human | Adrian Chiles

When I heard ‘Rachel’ answer the helpline number in her metallic voice, my soul felt as empty as the batteries of my malfunctioning car Something went wrong. The car charger wouldn’t work. Terrible, enervating, life-shortening faff ensued. It was to do with the wifi to which the car was linked having to be changed. I find this stuff so boring that I have been known to simply slump to the floor and fall into a deep sleep. But this wasn’t an option, as I had to drive miles to work and my car’s ...

By Adrian Chiles