A new AI project Google is currently developing, Google Duplex, is able to make reservations, confirm appointments, and notify you of the completed task all while you are doing something else. Google CEO Sundar Pichai announced and demonstrated this new technology at the Google I/O developers conference in May 2018. In the demo, Pichai showed how easily Google Duplex can make you an appointment without you having to take any active steps and also without the other party finding out that they are speaking to a robot. The voice that the AI bot uses sounds very human and even adds in some pauses and sounds like “um” and “mhmm” to make the conversation even more authentic. The first example demonstrated in the video below is Google Duplex making a haircut appointment for its “client”.
What’s interesting about this technology is the level of accuracy it has when interpreting. It can have logical conversations even if something unexpected is asked by the recipient of the phone call. Google Duplex has the capability to make choices and choose its next phrase instantly and seamlessly while keeping its bot identity anonymous. As of March 2019, Google Duplex can be used to make reservations in 43 US States. This technology has the potential to do so much, especially becoming the better version of a personal secretary.
Source:https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-google-duplex-869476/
Wow! I loved watching this video! I have never heard of Google Duplex before, but that video was really amazing. When I read the title of this, I assumed it was going to be similar to Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. The Google Duplex differs from Siri or Alexa because it is much closer to a real personal assistant since it can make actual phone calls on someone’s behalf. Even when the call doesn’t go as expected, such as in the second demonstration, Google Duplex was able to handle the unexpected responses and maintain a graceful manner. People would rather talk to a real human than a robot, so it is great that the way the Google Duplex speaks sounds like a real human. The person on the other end of the line will not even feel like they are talking to a robot! Google is doing something revolutionary here with this AI.
As much as I like Duplex and the intentions, I think it would be better if there was an on screen service like an online booking system. I tested the duplex feature on my google pixel, it works quite well, i get a few spam calls which i just let the duplex system reply on its own, you can also select what the system will say to the caller as well. I’d love this feature for those calls /places that routinely put me on hold or for when I’m working and I’m too busy to make the call myself.