Personal assistants
Call assistant: how to handle an incoming call
A personal call assistant decides how to handle each incoming call from the user's
context — at work, at home, in a meeting — the caller's relationship, and live signals.
Assumptions (abducibles) stand in for what can't be observed, and the agent returns a decision with the
reasoning behind it — according to the caller's feedback when needed.
The scenario
I want my call assistant agent to choose one of two options: let the phone ring,
or deny the call. Generally, I prefer the first option, unless the caller is unknown,
in which case I always deny. At home, I accept calls from family and friends, but
not from colleagues or my manager. However, I accept the call from my manager
assuming there is an urgency that has to be confirmed by the caller. Similarly, if
I am in a business discussion on the phone at home, I deny the call and pass on
the message: "I'm in a business discussion, please call back later." At
work, I accept calls from colleagues, friends, and family. However, if I am in a
meeting, I prefer to deny the call and pass on the message:
"I'm in a meeting, please call back later," unless it's a family member. In that case, I
will accept the call assuming there is a health problem and the health issue is
confirmed by the caller.