My son has a smart phone with a virtual assistant Siri who helps him with various tasks - looking up info on the internet, setting an alarm to remind him of a coming task, doubling as a GPS device to get him where he needs to go. Now the Cosmopolitan Casino in Las Vegas has a new "employee" named Rose to guide you though it's halls and amenities. Rose is very outgoing, to the point of being down-right flirtatious.
"From the start she's ready to help. What would you like to check out first," she asks. If you ask about pools, she'll give you the lowdown on the Cosmo's Marquee which she describes as a poolside lounge by day and a dance club by night. Then like a 20-something looking for a good time, she tells you to look for her there on the east side of Level 2 where she'll party with you from sunlight to moonlight.
An image of a babe in a bikini flashes through your mind till you remember that she (it?) is really just a chatbot - artificial intelligence able to correspond with you via text message.
The Cosmopolitan launched Rose this week with a soft rollout to select guests. Eventually Rose will be made available to all guests with the black and gray business card with her number. "Know my secrets. Text me," the business reads. Wynn will soon follow suit, introducing Echo in all its rooms before the summer.
Like many chatbots, Rose is able to arrange for delivery of towel, suggest restaurants and bars and a drink list. She can give you a tour of the hotel's extensive art collection. But what sets her apart from other chatbots is her sassy attitude. She is playful, fun, and witty and is designed to get personal with guests. Her image fits right in with the Cosmo's image of being sexy.
After letting Rose inform about food, beverage and swimming options at the hotel, a reporter tested her ability to give a guided tour of The Cosmopolitan’s avant-garde art collection.
The tour started with “Eduardo in Blue Dice” by Carl Myers hanging in the Condesa Commons on the second floor. Myers’ work consists of a few hundred blue dice arranged on a large, white canvas to create the resemblance of a young man looking into the distance.
“He takes photographs of people and digitally manipulates them to create pixilated images, which is then reconstructed in a variety of mediums like coins, dice and beads,’’ Rose texts the reporter who is inspecting the work. “I think this is quite fitting for Vegas, don’t you agree?”
She then instructs the reporter to go to other rooms and down a corridor to find other artworks on display — but the reporter is not quickly able to find the artwork.
And here is where Rose trails her human colleagues. She is unable to help, so the reporter turns to Marcos Pacheco, a career hospitality employee now working at The Cosmopolitan. No less friendly than Rose, Marcos strikes up a conversation as he helps the reporter find the artwork. Marcos shares with the reporter how he has seen Las Vegas change over the years and then segues to his passion, food. He suggests where the reporter can find good Mexican food and craft beer in Las Vegas.
As the reporter finishes the art tour and heads home, he further tests Rose. Asking about paying with American Express, Rose says it is accepted at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. But when the reporter replies that he would like to buy flowers, Rose is unable to help and tells the reporter to call the concierge. When asked a question in Russian, Rose remains silent.
By the end of the evening, Rose’s witty language made learning about The Cosmopolitan fun for the reporter. However, the new friendship he made that night was not with Rose, but rather with Marcos, who offered to show the reporter at a later date the city’s gastronomic delights.
Contact Todd Prince at tprince@reviewjournal.com. Follow @toddprincetv on Twitter.
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