Many Google Duplex Calls Are From Real People Instead of AI (engadget.com) 22
Google's Duplex reservations might be more widely available, but that doesn't mean the AI is ready to handle every call. From a report: The company has confirmed to the New York Times that about 25 percent of the Assistant-based calls start with a human in a call center, while 15 percent require human intervention. In the newspaper's tests, the ratio was higher -- real people completed three out of four of their successful bookings. There are multiple reasons for relying on the human touch. In one case, Duplex didn't appear to pick up the cues that reservations were available. It may also need training on more real-world calls before it can handle every situation. More importantly, the company argued that it was taking a cautious approach. It wants to treat businesses with respect, and that means gradually transitioning to the AI as it becomes better-suited to dealing with staff.
That explains it (Score:5, Funny)
I was wondering why the Duplex call I overheard told the hostess to "do the needful and make reservation".
Re: That explains it (Score:2)
I know the reason (Score:5, Funny)
"In one case, Duplex didn't appear to pick up the cues that reservations were available. "
That was a real french waiter on the phone, not a fake french one.
They are famous for that.
Google's next captcha (Score:1)
Google's next captcha will make you book a reservation to "prove that you're a human". You heard it here first!
Pay no attention to the lil man behind the curtain (Score:3)
'nuff said.
Makes Me More Likely To Use It (Score:3)
While AI is neat, ultimately, as an end user I don't really care if they use a call center or AI to place the reservation. I just want to be able to place the reservation and be confident it will be handled appropriately.
Google's willingness to use real people to place the reservations when they aren't sure their artificial systems are up to the task makes me more inclined to trust the system.
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Of course, Google's interest in setting up the service is surely, in part, to collect the kind of data involving real phone interactions it can use in all sorts of future AI projects. Personally, I think that's great. If I can make use of a nifty service while helping provide data for future services that's even better.