An AI System that Sounds Like A Human

Google Duplex: An AI System for Accomplishing Real-World Tasks Over the Phone

A long-standing goal of human-computer interaction has been to enable people to have a natural conversation with computers, as they would with each other. In recent years, we have witnessed a revolution in the ability of computers to understand and to generate natural speech, especially with the application of deep neural networks (e.g., Google voice search, WaveNet). Still, even with today’s state of the art systems, it is often frustrating having to talk to stilted computerized voices that don’t understand natural language. In particular, automated phone systems are still struggling to recognize simple words and commands. They don’t engage in a conversation flow and force the caller to adjust to the system instead of the system adjusting to the caller.

Today we announce Google Duplex, a new technology for conducting natural conversations to carry out “real world” tasks over the phone. The technology is directed towards completing specific tasks, such as scheduling certain types of appointments. For such tasks, the system makes the conversational experience as natural as possible, allowing people to speak normally, like they would to another person, without having to adapt to a machine.

The audio examples are simply amazing. If you haven’t already listened to the demo, check out the link. While Google says this is an “experiment” and not a finished product, I have to wonder how far this will go. Is it ethical to create an AI that sounds so human that we can’t tell the difference? Does Google or any other company experimenting with AI have an obligation to disclose to others that they are conversing with an AI? These and many more questions come to mind as I read this article.