VIRTUALLY HELPFUL

Though the concept of intelligent agents has been around for more than a decade, it wasn't until the last two years that they've become anything close to a marketable product. Sprint's versions of the intelligent agent are “e-assistants” that will carry out verbal requests. We recently “spoke” with Sprint's latest iteration of the e-assistant, Sandy and Christos, using Mike O'Brien, manager of network development for Sprint's Advanced Technology Lab (ATL), as our interpreter.

On our origins: “When we were developed a little more than a year ago, we knew there would be big expectations. Our predecessor, Chase Walker, has had all kinds of ink and even appeared on CNN. But Chase was so 2001, emphasizing “blue sky” applications like online travel booking with one simple request. Our applications aren't about flash and pizzazz but are a little more realistic. You could say we're old school, in a digital way.”

On our purpose: “We can do virtually anything — with the emphasis on virtually. We can interact with a robot that lets you almost transcend the virtual world. Say you want to speak with someone in our ATL. We'll activate the robot that knows where to go (he's got a map of the place stored in his brain). In minutes you're in a videoconference with the person via robot. It really becomes a form of remote presence. As far as you're concerned, you're making human-like requests. What you think of as a single request, like “Update me on my competitor's bankruptcy,” actually generates multiple machine requests.”

On appearances: “We're not real, but we are based on actual employees. Our attributes — like the timbre of our voice — can be customized to suit your needs. Ever wanted to play God? Create us in your own image by using a photo of yourself. The idea is to make it so you can deal with us as if we're human to most of your senses.”

On getting out of the lab and into the real world: “Right now it's a business decision. Our human creators say the technology can be implemented rather quickly, but it has to be the right business situation.”

On what's next: “The carbon-based humans behind us are creating a more unified interface. That way you do things like use the same interface for things that aren't necessarily delivered across the network. They're also working on predictive capability. Say you've watched every Arnold Schwarzenegger movie ever made except T2. We soon will be able to tell you when it becomes available for download, send it to your system and charge your account only if you watch it.”

DOSSIER SANDY & CHRISTOS

Occupation: Intelligent agents

Place of residence: Burlingame, Calif., in the Sprint Advanced Technology Lab

Current reading: Every newspaper that can be downloaded

Favorite Web site: We're not allowed to have our own, but we'll find what you like based on your previous requests. Our inventors like www.sprintlabs.com

Next project: “We're currently being made into MP4 objects. That way we can be mixed with graphics and video. It also lets us customize ‘scenes’ based on the user's profile.”