Movie stars have them
So do high powered business and political figures. Why can’t normal people have assistants also? Google is developing the electronic assistant (Google Assistant) called Duplex. This assistant Google Duplex is the next generation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) being developed to interact with humans.
Now, whether the normal people get to utilize this new technology or not is the question.
Google talkback
Google Duplex is being designed to sound and speak like regular humans. This is so the person on the receiving end of the call will not know they are talking to a machine.
Scheduling an appointment with a hair salon^ (google voice)
Calling a restaurant for reservation^ (google voice)
Google Duplex has been in development for years to achieve this objective. Having a machine sound like a human in Google’s eyes is the ultimate goal.
The Positives of Google Duplex
Like most products, there are some good benefits that come from employing Google Duplex. In using technology and developing AI, Google seems to want to help make life a little easier for everyone. Here are some of those positives:
- Always on time- there are no problems with personal issues delaying Google Duplex and causing it to be late for work.
- Always ready to work- Google Duplex does not wake up in the morning needed some motivator to get it ready to do its job. It also doesn’t take coffee breaks.
- Helps busy people- Google Duplex can fill in when an emergency arises. It can make doctor’s, dentist’s and other appointments as you care for your little one.
- Saves money- Google Duplex does not need to eat or pay bills. Nor does it need to take expensive vacations. This means you do not have to pay Google Duplex a salary. You save money and get the help you need.
- Saves time- Google Duplex will free up your time so you can concentrate on more important issues and duties.
In essence, Google Duplex (Okay Google) is being designed to make your life a little easier and help you handle any problem more efficiently and easily.
How Does Google Duplex Work?
This AI assistant is designed to work without the aid of any human involvement or help. Its self-monitoring technology allows it to recognize when a conversation is going off script and if it is not prepared to handle the rest of the dialogue, it will automatically alert a human operator who can step in and take over the phone call.
How this system works is based on the technology involved – Recurrent Neural Network or RNN for short, Google Duplex is basically a self-learning AI bot which also needs some training from humans. As humans train it, the AI function learns how to recognize which conversation is being used and then respond accordingly.
Little details that come in some human speech, like ah’s and uh’s, are added to the Duplex memory so when it responds, it will sound more natural. To get the ultimate natural sound and highest next to human quality voice, Google has instructors monitoring Google Duplex throughout its training and development.
“hmm”s and “uh”s (google voice)
These instructors will make adjustments to Google Duplex until they are satisfied with the level of artificial conversation.
Google Duplex Can Aid Businesses
Along with the numerous benefits already mentioned above, businesses can have positive results by employing Google Duplex. One benefit is to streamline the appointment process. Google Duplex can do this while letting human assistants concentrate on those clients or patients already in the waiting room.
Google Duplex handles the appointment phone calls while letting the human assistants handle the more complicated calls. No training of employees is required when this option is employed. Plus, the normal work-related duties can continue without interruption.
Complicated Situation^ (google voice)
Another benefit to businesses is that Google Duplex can reduce the number of phone calls or google call it receives by posting special information on the internet, google search. The fewer phone calls the more attention can be applied to business issues.
The Negatives Attached to Google Duplex
Because this technology is still in the development stages, only a few negatives have been identified so far. Those negatives can have an unhealthy impact on a business.
- A Cut in Profits- Google Duplex may order food from a restaurant using a system that takes a piece of the total price. This use of a middleman means lower profits to the restaurant.
- Lack of Connection- Using Google Duplex means that there is no customer business connection. There is no trust connection made and it is easier to ignore appointments when you did not make it directly.
- Lower employment- Google Duplex can make the human assistant’s position obsolete. Fewer jobs mean no income for some people.
- More Abuse-It is possible that those who employ Google Duplex will take a further negative view of those lower echelon employees and abuse them in a variety of ways.
The impact of the economy, employee lives and the overall state of society should be examined more closely than it is.
One Way for Google to Hit a Home Run (ok google ok google)
In every article talking about Google Duplex, the basic benefits were the main theme of each article. The writers wanted to make sure people saw the good things that this technology could do. But what was left out was one very important beneficial aspect Google Duplex could provide to individual members of society.
This technology would be ideal for those people who do not know the individual native language of a given country. They could type in what they wanted to say, Google Duplex could translate it into the native tongue of the country the person resides and make life easier for them.
Given the right apps or upgrades, Google Duplex could also help the blind, the deaf and the dumb to communicate a lot easier. But making life easier for those who need life to be a little easier would be a far loftier goal for Google.
The potential for Google Duplex if given the right direction is enormous and the positive impact on society would be good for Google. There is a lot to be said about Google Duplex and its possible contribution if it is developed correctly.
Source: Google Blog
Watch Marques Brownlee’s Youtube video on Google Duplex:
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