Robot Telemarketer Insists It is Human in Creepy Phone Calls

TIME reporters recorded these creepy phone conversations with a robot telemarketer that, when asked if it is a robot, laughs and insists it is a “real person.” The robo-marketer, or “Samantha West,” as it likes to be called, is programmed to ask a series of health insurance questions before connecting the caller with an insurance sales-human. After answering Samantha’s questions, a TIME reporter was connected with a Florida insurance company—after inquiries from TIME the company took down its website and Samantha is now unreachable.

photo by Scott Beale