This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, the General Services Administration telephone switchboard and its operators in 1951, and right, Siri, Apple's virtual assistant on the Apple iPhone 4S. The number of switchboard and telephone operators in the U.S. fell from 182,000 to 73,000 in 10 years through 2010 because of new technology.
Photo by
Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press .
published Thursday, January 24th, 2013
Stories this photo appears in:
WASHINGTON — They seem right out of a Hollywood fantasy, and they are: Cars that drive themselves have appeared in movies like “I, Robot” and the television show “Knight Rider.”
