Google’s AI robots ‘to replace human call centres’
is planning to test its automated voice software in companies’ call centres, according to a reportrt citing sources close to the company.
Technology website The Information said Google is in talks with a large unnamed insurance company to introduce Duplex, the artificialintelligence (AI) system that can speak like a human.
Replacing humans with automated systems might make financial sense for companies, though they may face a backlash from customers who’d rather talk to a real person. The rumour comes amid growing fears that the rise of AI will lead to thousands of customerservice staff losing their jobs.
Google unveiled Duplex in May, showing how it could be used to book a table in a restaurant or an appointment at a hairdresser’s. Its realism astounded experts, who were particularly impressed by how it includes sounds like ‘um’ and ‘ah’ to closely mimic a human’s speech pattern. It even answers ‘mmm-hmm’ to questions (hear it at www. snipca.com/27854).
According to The Information, Duplex would answer simple calls from customers, and hand over to a human only if the conversation got more complicated.
However, Google denied it was working with companies to implement Duplex, claiming instead to be “focused on consumer use cases” for the technology.
A spokesman said: “Duplex is designed to operate in very specific-use cases, and currently we’re focused on testing with restaurant reservations, hair-salon bookings and holiday hours with a limited set of trusted testers”.
The company also acknowledged the ethical dilemmas posed by a robot pretending to be a human, admitting that “it’s important that we get the experience
right, and we’re taking a slow and measured approach as we incorporate learnings and feedback from our tests”. Who would you rather talk to - a human or a robot? Let us know: letters@computeractive.co.uk.