Google Duplex is marketed as an AI system for accomplishing real-world tasks over the phone. It uses a highly trained recurrent neural network to conduct and navigate natural conversations the same way a real human would. Listening to recordings of Duplex booking a hair appointment, asking for holiday hours and making dinner reservations is eerie. The bot is programmed to respond to and mimic “normal” aspects of human conversation like “umm”s, “uhh”s, and interruptions. Google boasts that its new creation will make accomplishing supported tasks simpler. Duplex’s Principle Engineer, Yaniv Leviathan, and Google’s VP of Engineering, Yossi Matias, write, “Instead of making a phone call, the user simply interacts with the Google Assistant, and the call happens completely in the background without any user involvement” (Leviathan and Matias). Is this really an advancement - a step in the right direction? Sure, it’s cool we’ve made a robot that can carry a “normal” conversation, but I would argue this is just another unnecessary, potentially harmful way to incorporate technology into our lives for the sake of “convenience.”
What is “convenience” anyway? I think rapid technological advancement warped this term, and what’s “convenient” changes every time a new technology comes about. The postal service was more convenient than seeing a person face-to-face, landlines were more convenient than the postal service, cell phones were more convenient than landlines, texting was more convenient than calling, and now using a robot to make a reservation is more convenient than actually making the reservation yourself? Technological advancements are all about saving time, but at what point does time stop being saved?
Regardless of convenience, the most unsettling aspect of Google Duplex is real humans on the other end of the call may have no idea they’re talking to a robot. Laurel Wamsley focuses on this in her NPR article titled “Google’s New Voice Bot Sounds, Um, Maybe Too Real.” Satirical commentaries on Duplex like to poke fun at how much the bot uses “umm” and “uhh” to sound natural. Wamsley concludes her article, “The concept known as the ‘uncanny valley’ notes that adults often find it creepy to interact with a robot that seems very nearly - but not quite - human. But Google’s new technology pushes that question of creepiness to a new level: What if we don’t even know it’s a robot we’re talking to?” (Wamsley). This makes me think of the virtual celebrities and influencers we discussed last week and how unsettled I am by them. I would say those “robots” are very nearly, but not quite human, and if Lil Miquela’s bio didn’t say “robot with the drip” it might’ve taken me a while to realize she’s not real.
If the goal is to make robots do things humans do, it seems like we’re heading there, then how long will humans be separate from robots? Will we even need human influencers or schedulers or friends? An article in The Outline by Casey Johnston titled “I’m excited to outsource every difficult conversation to my Google Assistant” lists some conversations Johnston would make Duplex carry out.
“Hey Google: Give my child “The Talk”
Hey Google: Tell my boss I’m going to miss the meeting
Hey Google: Ask my boyfriend if he’s cheating on me
Hey Google: Tell my landlord I’ll send the rent uhhh next week.”
Is the ultimate goal of technology really to end human to human interaction? It sure seems like it. My coworkers are already scared to pick up the phone when someone calls to schedule an appointment - how will that fear manifest if it becomes normal to have a robot make phone calls for you? Maybe someday in the near future I’ll be the human on the other end with a robot assistant telling me what times work best for its human counterpart.
I’ll leave you with a Google Duplex parody (content warning for language). It may not be parody for long.
Works Cited
"Guy Uses Google Duplex For Breakup". 2019. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-LFbvszNPE.
Johnston, Casey. 2019. "I’M Excited To Outsource Every Difficult Conversation To My Google Assistant". The Outline. https://theoutline.com/post/4481/im-excited-to-outsource-every-difficult-conversation-to-my-google-assistant?zd=2&zi=xapatmsp.
Leviathan, Yaniv, and Yossi Matias. 2019. "Google Duplex: An AI System For Accomplishing Real-World Tasks Over The Phone". Google AI Blog. https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/duplex-ai-system-for-natural-conversation.html.
"Miquela (@Lilmiquela) • Instagram Photos And Videos". 2019. Instagram.Com. https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/.
Wamsley, Laurel. 2019. "NPR Choice Page". Npr.Org. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/05/09/609820627/googles-new-voice-bot-sounds-um-maybe-too-real.
Comments
How is convenience defined in our current digital society and how will it be defined in the future with the emergence of technologies like Google duplex? Is convenience synonymous with isolation and the loss of human connection? When it comes to the word “convenience” in the context of our technological society, I think there is an ideal definition and real definition. Ideally, convenient technology will allow us to use the time that we would normally spend on menial tasks to do more productive things. However, in reality, convenient technology fosters, in some cases, laziness and normalizes isolation. While having a robot to make our hair appointments may save us time, it is also taking away an opportunity for human connection. How that extra time is spent depends on the person; some may choose to catch up on their favorite TV show and some may need the time to spend with their families. Technology is convenient, but whether the consequences of that convenience is negative or positive will depend on the person. Human interaction with the salon receptionist trumps watching TV alone in bed but it does not trump spending time with family. Maybe the questions to ask is: Can humans be trusted with extra time? Will the majority of humans choose to spend that extra time created by technology productively or wastefully?
- Lauryn McSpadden