City Employee Gets in Trouble Again for Talking Like a Robot

New York Magazine ^ | September 29, 2015 | Jen Kirby

[nickcarraway]

The saga of this city worker is a gift that keeps on giving: Despite receiving a 20-day suspension last year for mimicking a robot while answering IT calls to the Department of Health's help desk, employee Ronald Dillon is about to be disciplined once again for talking to customers like a droid.

Dillon will likely be put on 30-day unpaid leave after he overrode supervisors' orders to stop impersonating a machine, which the judge who presided over Dillon's hearing described as "a slow, stilted and monotonous voice."

Dillon was also censured for not responding to customer-service requests and purposefully misdirecting calls. The judge noted that it appeared as if Dillon, who had been working for the Department of Health since 1976 and has an MBA, believed his qualifications made him superior to his job as a help-desk drone, which explained some of his antics. But the last time Dillon was accused of doing his best AI impression, the city worker claimed he was only trying to make his voice "atonal" because his superiors objected to the sound of his regular-person and Brooklyn-accented voice. Here is a clip, thanks to DNAinfo, of Dillon using robot speak and then breaking character, so you can decide which works better — man versus machine.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

"Hello, IT."

[TheRightGuy]

he was probably reading one of those threads about everyone wanting to have sex with robots

[Larry Lucido]

Like the time I worked for 555-FILK

[Tax-chick]

Did you see this?

[Gamecock]

First offense story: City Worker Gets 20-Day Suspension for Using Robot Voice to Answer Phone

[Gamecock]

Is It OK to Have Sex With a Robot?

She also happened to mention to me that her friend had wondered if going to a prostitute robot while you're engaged is considered cheating.
His feeling was they're never going to see each other again so what's
the difference. But that is a subject for another sermon.
Now, I'd like to close with a psalm.

[Gamecock]

See 26

[Gamecock]

Hmmmm. I think Skippy used to be in my unit.

[doorgunner69]

Well, I can see his point: I would rather listen to a droid than a Brooklyn accent, thank you.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Sounds like Skippy was bored that day. :)

[Mr. K]

That would make a funny movie, wouldn’t it?

[samtheman]

I listened to the clip. It sounds like a normal voice to me.

---

Except for the very beginning when he answered the call. The rest was straight human.

[KosmicKitty]

That is NOT a robot voice.

What is wrong with people????

[KosmicKitty]

“Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again!!”

Done help desk duty. That is So true.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

I see an unemployment check in this guy’s future.

DANG!

[Trillian]

I'm thinking about getting metal legs. It's a risky operation, but it'll be worth it.

[Travis T. OJustice]

Yep, better than Mash or anything like it.

Guys like Skippy could really rule the world once they learn how to channel their smarts.

[Albion Wilde]

That show is absolutely side-splitting!

[Manic_Episode]

Bfl

[Manic_Episode]