Leader: Humans have their flaws, so too does technology

I confess the news is likely to cause some readers to roll their eyes. Sessions at numerous industry conferences in recent years have been quick to prophesise how technology – and specifically robots – will soon take over not just the world of travel, but the world in general. That soon, humans will be taken out of the holiday booking process all together – the Lola app is even described as a mobile travel agent.

However, new technological inventions don’t have to mean the end of human interaction. Lola works by enabling the sending of messages to real travel agents. And as Flight Centre Corporate’s Steve Norris points out, the main USP for users of “Sam” (Smart Assistance for Mobile) is that they are able to “call or message their consultant at any time”.

High street agents are able to capitalise on this too, as highlighted by Aspen Travel in Manchester, which I visited on my TTG Top 50 Travel Agencies tour of the north-west. They’re trialling Vee24 – a mobile machine which enables any employee to take a call and engage in a live chat with customers.

Of course, humans embracing technology is not always a force for good. Our Technology supplement, published online, and available at next week’s Travel Technology Europe (TTE) in London, highlights the ethics of bloggers and influencers that impact buying decisions.

But if humans have their flaws, so too does technology. Despite his job title, TTG technology editor Matthew Parsons admits he is still trying to activate his Amazon Echo. Apparently Alexa doesn’t like his voice, no matter how loud he shouts at her. Luckily, Matthew will be engaging with humans at next week’s TTE. Visit him on stand T306 – and maybe you can help him decide what he and Alexa have in common.