While we're on the topic of virtual assistants, this one seems particularly intriguing.
We have trained operators standing by 24/7 to answer every one of your requests. Send us a text message, and we'll get you what you want. We'll order what you need from the appropriate service (e.g. DoorDash, Instacart, Postmates, etc.), and deal with them so you just automatically get what you want, like magic...
The service is simply called Magic, and it definitely appears to be exactly that. It looks similar to a service like TaskRabbit, but for more simple tasks, and with much less hassle. This whole space is fascinating to me. It makes me think of a Freakonomics Podcast episode I listened to recently, where David Autor argued that while technology will inevitably replace some jobs, our disposable income and other factors will continue to drive the need for new jobs.
“[T]he interactions by which technological changes lead to changes in employment are really rich and complex,” he tells us, “and it’s not simply a matter of, you know, a machine does the job, therefore the worker doesn’t do the job, therefore there are fewer workers needed.”
While I don't necessarily believe that whoever is on the other end of these Magic text messages has the greatest job in the world, it is a job, and it gives exponentially more people access to a personal assistant that never would have dreamed of, or been able to, hire a traditional one.