It’s already a known thing how Google Duplex left an audience of millions surprised by answering a phone call like a human. No doubt, it has raised ethical concerns.
While AI making reservations and appointments over phone calls may sound creepy, Google is up to something else. The company is considering plans to license Google Duplex to be used in call centers for jobs like tech support, telemarketing calls, etc.
According to The Information, Google is in talks with potential customers, including a large insurance company that has shown interest in incorporating Duplex into their systems.
Duplex would be able to take calls and hand it over to the human representative when things go out of order. But the project is moving forward at a slow pace, given the ethical concerns by the said insurance company.
However, a Google spokesperson told the publication that it isn’t testing the technology with businesses.
“It’s important that we get the experience right both for the people and for businesses and we’re taking a slow and measured approach as we incorporate learnings and feedback from our tests,” said the spokesperson.
For now, Google is limited to exploring consumer use cases, such as making hair saloon booking, holiday hours, and restaurant reservations with a limited set of testers, according to another statement.
Although Google’s AI yet to mature, the possibility of Duplex making its way to the call centers put a questions mark on the employment of thousands, maybe millions of humans. Naturally, companies may prefer a non-living thing capable of providing round the clock support while cutting down on expenses.
There is another critical issue that needs attention Possibilities can’t be ignored that an eerily human AI can be used to fool people and suck their money through scam calls. Even nowadays, when scammers depend on their human kills, there are many cases of people getting scammed.
As far as Google is concerned, the company won’t want that to happen to their system. Google has announced in the past that a disclosure will be made at the start of the call to notify the other person that they’re talking to a computer.
Also Read: Apps May Not Eavesdrop On You But They Record Screen Activities: Researchers
