Earlier this year during Google I/O, the company unveiled a somewhat controversial new AI system called Duplex. It was controversial in the sense that it sounded human enough and could respond to inquiries and the other person had no idea that they were talking to a bot, which kind of made the whole process rather terrifying.
Now it looks like Duplex is on its to to more users, as confirmed by a Google spokesperson to VentureBeat in which it was revealed that Duplex is now on its way to more users. Previously the AI feature was only available for testing for a “set of trusted tester users”, but now it is starting to expand to more Pixel owners.
The feature will allow them to make restaurant reservations in “select cities” which includes New York, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Francisco. According to Google, “We’re currently ramping up the ability to book restaurant reservations through the Google Assistant over the phone using Duplex technology. To help deliver a good experience to Pixel users and to businesses, we’re starting with a slow rollout … and will expand to more Pixel users as we continue to ramp up.”
Google had previously responded to the criticism surrounding Duplex by stating that they will let the other person know that they might be talking to bot and that their conversations are being recorded. You can check out a demo of Duplex in the works in the video above recorded by VentureBeat for a restaurant in San Francisco called Cafe Prague.
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