In a creepy display of realism, Google’s AI can now make actual phone calls for you, like booking haircut appointments — without the other party realizing they aren’t speaking to a human.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled the newest version of Google Assistant at the Google I/O 2018 conference on Tuesday, and demonstrated the AI’s new capabilities by having it book a haircut appointment on the user’s behalf.
“Let’s say you wanna ask Google to make you a haircut appointment on Tuesday between 10 and noon,” Pichai told the audience.
“What happens, is that the Google Assistant makes the call seamlessly in the background for you. So what you’re gonna hear is the Google Assistant actually calling a real salon to schedule the appointment for you.”
What happens next is unsettling. The Google Assistant calls the salon, speaks with the receptionist as a female voice without her having any idea, and successfully books the appointment.
Yes, it’s impressive.
And yes, it’s creepy as hell.
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