Duplex, for a quick primer, is Google’s AI-powered voice bot which can call businesses on a person’s behalf for things such as booking hair appointments. It’s so realistic that everyone has decided that bots must declare themselves as such before chatting with a human.

A company known as PolyAI – which specialises in “enterprise-ready voice assistants” – has posted an account of what happened when Duplex called one of its restaurant assistants.

Duplex was calling businesses over the summer to update opening hours on Google Maps. This is how the conversation went:

Nikola Mrkšić, Co-Founder and CEO of PolyAI, wrote in a blog post:

“As far as we’re aware, this is the first naturally-occurring conversation between AI voice assistants in the wild.

I have never seen anything like this before, and I’m incredibly proud that PolyAI is sharing this moment in computing history with our friends from Google.”

Mrkšić humbly admits that Duplex sounds far more human-like than PolyAI’s assistant. However, he also makes a valid reference to the “uncanny valley” theory.

The uncanny valley theory suggests that people are more positive towards something which sounds like a human, up until a point. When it sounds too much like a human then it becomes creepy—a sentiment which many have certainly shared about Duplex.

(Photo by Jeffery Ho on Unsplash)

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Duplex probably needs little introduction as it caused a bit of a stir when it debuted at I/O in late 2018 (when conferences were things you could still physically attend.)

The human-sounding AI could perform actions like calling a business on a person’s behalf and booking in things such as hair appointments or table reservations.

Duplex is undeniably impressive, but it prompted a debate over whether AIs should have to state they’re not human before imitating one. Google has since decided to add disclosures at the beginning of calls and give businesses the option to opt-out of being called by an AI.

Humans haven’t been completely replaced by Duplex. Google says around a quarter of Duplex calls are started by humans, and 15 percent start with an AI but are later intervened by a human if issues arise or the person receiving the call opts not to speak with an AI.

In terms of devices, the rollout of Duplex started on Pixel phones (obviously) before making the slightly odd decision to launch on iOS devices. More Android phones then began joining the party.

(Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash)

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Duplex caused a stir when it debuted at Google’s I/O developer conference last year. The AI was shown calling a hair salon to make a booking and did so complete with human-like “ums” and “ahs”.

The use of such human mannerisms goes to show Google’s intention was for the human to be unaware they’re in conversation with an AI. Following some outcry, Google and other tech giants have pledged to make it clear to humans if they’re not speaking to another person.

Duplex is slowly rolling out and is available for Pixel smartphone owners in the US. Currently, it turns out Duplex bookings are often being carried out by humans in call centres.

Google confirmed to the New York Times that about 25 percent of the Assistant-based calls start with a human in a call centre, while 15 percent require human intervention. Times reporters Brian Chen and Cade Metz made four sample reservations and just one was completed start to finish by the AI.

The practice of using humans as a backup should always be praised. Making this standard practice helps increase trust, reduces concerns about human workers being replaced, and provides some accountability when things go awry.

Only so much can go wrong when booking a hair appointment, but setting expectations now will help to guide developments further down the line.

AI is being increasingly used in a military capacity, and most will sleep better at night knowing a human is behind any final decision rather than complete automation. Just imagine if Soviet officer Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov decided to launch retaliatory nuclear missiles after his early warning system falsely reported the launch of missiles from the US back in 1983.

According to the Times, Google isn’t in a rush to replace the human callers, and that should be welcomed.

Related: Watch our interview with UNICRI AI and Robotics Centre head Irakli Beridze discussing issues like weaponisation and the impact on jobs:

deepgeniusai.com/">AI & Big Data Expo events with upcoming shows in Silicon Valley, London, and Amsterdam to learn more. Co-located with the IoT Tech Expo, , & .

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During the Google Cloud Next 18 conference, Google Chief AI Scientist Dr. Fei-Fei Li demonstrated a new AI system called Google Contact Center AI which – much like Duplex – sounded incredibly natural in its responses to human queries.

Google seems to have learned its lesson from its Duplex demonstration and wanted to iterate that it’s not designed to replace human operators.

Instead, the system could be used to replace the current dreaded automated messages you often hear when dialling a call center. “Press 1 for… press 2 for…” just writing it makes me shudder.

Contact Center AI could be able to answer some basic questions about the business to provide answers quickly to callers and reduce the waiting times for those needing a human operator.

When a human operator is necessary, the system could automatically transfer the caller to the correct department.

“Contact Center AI is an example for our passion for bringing AI to every industry all the while elevating the role of human talent,” Li told the audience. “We’re creating technology that’s not just powerful but that’s also trustworthy.”

Call centers are something we’ve all had a frustrating experience with, so it’s a good example of the practical uses of AI when explaining to a wider public that may be sceptical about the technology’s benefits.

Google took the right approach when demonstrating Contact Center AI. The company’s Duplex demo spurred a needed debate about whether an AI should always identify itself as such when interacting with a human.

Several companies, including Google, promise their AIs will do so. Some lawmakers are considering legislation that will make it a legal obligation.

What are your thoughts on Google’s contact center AI?

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The research, from Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute, found close to three-quarters (73 percent) of consumers have interacted via AI.

Satisfaction with those who have experienced AI interactions is slightly lower, at 69 percent. Over two-thirds satisfaction is quite surprisingly high, especially when you consider how dissatisfied people typically are with traditional automated systems.

Just over half (55%) of consumers across all age groups want interactions to be a mix of AI and humans, while 64 percent want AIs to be more ‘human-like’ rather than ‘human-looking’.

Interestingly, the fear surrounding AI intellect – likely instilled through sci-fi movies such as Terminator – appears to be decreasing. More than three in five consumers (62%) are now comfortable with an AI featuring human-like intellect.

Where an AI has the desired human-like qualities, almost half (48%) say they feel more goodwill towards a company and would have a greater propensity to spend.

One major benefit the majority (63%) of people felt AI had over humans was its 24/7 availability and how it provides greater control over their interactions.

Back in May, Google showed a demo of its impressive-yet-controversial ‘Duplex’ (now renamed to ‘Duet’) AI system which could make calls on a person’s behalf while sounding like a human. It was shown booking a hair salon appointment with the other person completely unaware they were speaking to an AI.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd1mEm2Fy08

48 percent of respondents say the opportunity to be able to delegate tasks to an electronic personal assistant is exciting, with another 46 percent believing it will enhance their quality of life.

Despite consumers wanting AI to have human attributes like similar voice (62%) and the ability to understand emotions (57%), they also find them “creepy” and do not want them to appear human.

More than half (52%) of customers are not comfortable when AI is set up to look like a person. The report also finds that two-thirds of consumers (66%) would like to be made aware when companies are enabling interactions via AI.

Some companies, such as Google and Microsoft, have committed themselves to ensuring their AIs identify themselves as such to a human at the beginning of an interaction. Lawmakers are considering legislation to make this a legal obligation.

The research surveyed 10,000 consumers and more than 500 executives at leading organisations across 10 global markets.

You can find a full copy of “The Secret to Winning Customers’ Hearts with AI” here.

What are your thoughts on the results of the report?

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The company first launched its XiaoIce project back in August 2017. In April, Microsoft said it had achieved full duplexing — the ability to speak and listen at the same time, similar to humans.

Microsoft’s announcement was made before Google’s demonstration earlier this month but, unlike Google, the company had nothing to show at the time.

XiaoIce has now been demonstrated in action during a London event:

The chatbot is only available in China at this time, but it’s become incredibly popular with more than 500 million users.

XiaoIce also features over 230 skills and has been used to perform things such as creating news and hosting radio programs as part of its ‘Content Creation Platform’.

In a blog post, Microsoft VP of AI Harry Shum revealed that more than 600,000 people have spoken on the phone with XiaoIce since it launched in August.

“Most intelligent agents today like Alexa or Siri focus on IQ or task completion, providing basic information like weather or traffic,” wrote Shum. “But we need agents and bots to balance the smarts of IQ with EQ – our emotional intelligence.”

“When we communicate, we use tone of voice, word play, and humour, things that are very difficult for computers to understand. However, Xiaoice has the ability to have human-like verbal conversations, which the industry calls full duplex.”

As many have called for since the Duplex demo, and Google has promised, Microsoft ensures a human participant is aware they’re speaking to an AI.

One thing we’d love to see is a conversation between XiaoIce and Google Duplex to see how well they each hold up. However, let’s keep our hands on the kill switch in case world domination becomes a topic.

What are your thoughts on conversational AIs like XiaoIce and Duplex?

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