Google Duplex - Cool or Creepy?

[LeoRex]

Yeah, I'm all in with the advancement angle. This is a road that leads to Star Trek like interactions where there's no need to worry about saying things properly... There's bound to be a 'Her' moment or two, as some close themselves off to the world and choose to interact with the AI rather than real people. But the benefit here will ultimately outweigh those risks.

But like anything new, there's going to be growing pains.

 

[Morty2264]

Hmm, I'd need to know more about it to decide for sure; but it does sound like it's borderline creepy. Imagine picking up the phone to talk to someone and then finding out later that it wasn't even a person...

 

[neo158]

Hmm, I'd need to know more about it to decide for sure; but it does sound like it's borderline creepy. Imagine picking up the phone to talk to someone and then finding out later that it wasn't even a person...

From what I've heard it announces itself as "Google Assistant calling on behalf of a client" and if the person at the other end wants to talk to a human instead then Duplex hands the call over to you.

 

[Morty2264]

From what I've heard it announces itself as "Google Assistant calling on behalf of a client" and if the person at the other end wants to talk to a human instead then Duplex hands the call over to you.

Well, that makes it a little better, at least...

But then you may feel a little weird if you're the other person on the line; thinking that the person "calling you" is too busy to talk to you, so they've sent a robot instead...

Which sounds sort of Jetsons funny, but still.

 

[Almeuit]

Well, that makes it a little better, at least...

But then you may feel a little weird if you're the other person on the line; thinking that the person "calling you" is too busy to talk to you, so they've sent a robot instead...

Which sounds sort of Jetsons funny, but still.

If a business doesn't like it they can opt-out from receiving these type of calls.

 

[Morty2264]

If a business doesn't like it they can opt-out from receiving these type of calls.

That's good to know!!

 

[hallux]

But then you may feel a little weird if you're the other person on the line; thinking that the person "calling you" is too busy to talk to you, so they've sent a robot instead..

How is it any different from someone having an actual human assistant calling for them?

 

[Morty2264]

How is it any different from someone having an actual human assistant calling for them?

For me at least, there's just something strange about a robot and/or automated voice on the other end of the line. The fact that there is not a human being on the other end of the line is weird. At least the human assistant would be, well, human!