I got two calls the past two days from a local realtor using AI voice bots. Chirpy “Hi, how are you today Mr. POF?” I said “You sound like a bot.” It said “Yes, I’m a digital assistant.” I went into “Tirade Mode” with a steady stream of foul expletives. That seemed to throw it back on its heels. I finally said “Take me off your call list” and it said “Done.”
One more thing to drive us all crazy.
We have our home phone system set up so that everyone who matters to us is ID’d on the phone, and anything else is blocked. If something still somehow manages to get through, we just don’t answer. And we do no business on cell phones; only very close friends and family have those numbers. Any vendors we deal with are instructed to contact us by email.
Not a practical system for everyone, but very useful to those of us it suits. No going crazy.