For much of the last decade, corporate America has embraced artificial intelligence, automated phone systems, chatbots and digital self-service platforms with the promise of making customer service faster and more efficient. Companies have argued that technology would reduce wait times, improve consistency and make it easier for customers to obtain help at any hour of the day. Increasingly, however, consumers describe a different experience—one in which automation has become another obstacle separating companies from the people they are supposed to serve. The problem is not artificial intelligence itself. Used well, AI can speed routine tasks, organize information and help employees respond more quickly. The concern arises when businesses treat automation as a substitute for trained customer-service representatives rather than as…
Senator Lindsey Graham, who once suggested that some January 6 Capitol rioters “should be shot in the head” and who told White House counsel that President Trump should be removed under the 25th Amendment after the riot, has died at age 71. Graham had a reputation as one of Washington’s most consistent foreign policy hawks and warmongers. Throughout his time in government, he pushed for deeper U.S. military involvement and prolonged engagements…