By Mustafa Nourallah, PhD. 8 April 2026 On a sunny spring day, I needed to call my bank about an important matter. As is often the case, the interaction began with the usual identification step: am I calling as a private individual, as a company representative, or for some other purpose? Normally, the automated system asks me to press 1 if I am a private customer, 2 if I am calling on behalf of a company, or 3 for anything else. It is a simple process . One button, one second