Google updates it's virtual assistant to make complex calls for users

[ItsMitch]

S: Reuters Tech https://www.reuters.com/article/us-alphabet-developers/updated-google-virtual-assistant-makes-complex-calls-for-users-idUSKBN1I92ME 

Google has announced a huge upgrade to it's assistant complex calls for its users. This allows users to ask it's Assistant to make calls for them in advance for appointments, table bookings, and ordering food. 

Quote

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.(Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google on Tuesday showed off an updated virtual assistant that can call restaurants, hair salons and other businesses to check hours and make reservations, holding conversations on a user’s behalf.

 

The announcement at Google I/O, an annual event held since 2008 to share new tools and strategies with creators of products that work with Google software and hardware, shows how the company is responding to rising competition from big tech companies over virtual assistants, shopping and devices.

 

Google played phone conversations between the assistant and people at a restaurant and hair salon. The assistant responded to several questions to make a hair appointment and find out when the restaurant line would be short.

Google also said it was expanding the ability of the assistant to order food from restaurants including Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O) and Domino’s Pizza Inc (DPZ.N).

The updates reflect Google’s plan to add artificial intelligence to more of its services, as advances in the computing technique enable software to identify objects in a photo, detect anomalies in vast quantities of data and rapidly translate speech.

 

I for one, welcome our google assistant overlords and I really like this idea, especially for booking several things in advance.

 

Examples for people being confused

Ian is busy man, he says "Hey Google, call Angels Hairdressers for a haircut on Thursday between 10am and 12PM.

Google's Assistant will make a call to Angels Hairdressers and ask them for a haircut on Thursday between 10am and 12PM.

If they don't have any places booked, Assistant will cancel the booking and inform the user of no active bookings

 

Story still developing 

 

[Bananasplit_00]

huh, thats neat but no thanks?

[ItsMitch]

1 minute ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

huh, thats neat but no thanks?

if it means I can be more lazy and exclude myself from human interaction then I'm all for

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, SC2Mitch said:

if it means I can be more lazy and exclude myself from human interaction then I'm all for

but wouldnt it be better if it just did that stuff online? like with 0 humans involved? 

[Sniperfox47]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

but wouldnt it be better if it just did that stuff online? like with 0 humans involved? 

The point they made at IO is that a lot of businesses, especially small businesses, still don't have online booking systems (or computerized booking systems at all). This adds accessibility to those businesses.

[Spotty]

Will be a game changer for anyone who has trouble making phone calls such as deaf or hearing impaired and people with speech issues.

 

1 minute ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

but wouldnt it be better if it just did that stuff online? like with 0 humans involved? 

Did you watch the demo at all? They state that most small businesses don't have online booking systems and take the bulk of their bookings via phone. Your local hairdresser probably isn't going to have a website with online booking.

[Bananasplit_00]

1 minute ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The point they made at IO is that a lot of businesses, especially small businesses, still don't have online booking systems (or computerized booking systems at all). This adds accessibility to those businesses.

sure, i cant say i would be super stoked over a call from googles assistant though but yah that makes sense

[Bananasplit_00]

Just now, Spotty said:

Did you watch the demo at all? They state that most small businesses don't have online booking systems and take the bulk of their bookings via phone. Your local hairdresser probably isn't going to have a website with online booking.

they do actiually  but no i didnt watch the demo, just read the forum post and found it a bit odd. also every buisness should have a website IMO, its cheap and easy to set up

[Sniperfox47]

1 minute ago, Bananasplit_00 said:

sure, i cant say i would be super stoked over a call from googles assistant though but yah that makes sense

The demos did a really good job of camouflaging the computerized nature of the call. It's not handled on device, it's handled by Cloud TPUs so they have a lot more computational power to generate realistic and organic conversation flows. The biggest giveaway was that there was a short pause before the assistant replied.

 

But they're also not rolling it out immediately, they stated that certain parts of it, like calling businesses to get hours, will roll out in the next few weeks as an AI experiment, and then they'll slowly start expanding from there.

[Spotty]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

sure, i cant say i would be super stoked over a call from googles assistant though but yah that makes sense

Just realised the news article OP listed doesn't include the demo video (why?). Watch the demo, the assistant sounded pretty damn realistic. The people on the other end didn't know they were talking to AI.
 

 

[ItsMitch]

3 minutes ago, Spotty said:

demo video (why?

Not at home and adding videos in this garbage editor is awful and it doesn't embed properly

[Bananasplit_00]

10 minutes ago, Sniperfox47 said:

The demos did a really good job of camouflaging the computerized nature of the call. It's not handled on device, it's handled by Cloud TPUs so they have a lot more computational power to generate realistic and organic conversation flows. The biggest giveaway was that there was a short pause before the assistant replied.

 

But they're also not rolling it out immediately, they stated that certain parts of it, like calling businesses to get hours, will roll out in the next few weeks as an AI experiment, and then they'll slowly start expanding from there.

16 minutes ago, Spotty said:

Just realised the news article OP listed doesn't include the demo video (why?). Watch the demo, the assistant sounded pretty damn realistic. The people on the other end didn't know they were talking to AI.
 

 

ooooh, i assumed it was just the normal meh assistant i never use in my phone that did all of it. thats actiually crazy good, holy shit

[TigerHawk]

This would be really amusing to get working with a business that has an automated phone system press 1 press 2 etc. Two robots holding a conversation with each other to set up an appointment for a human being. What a future we live in. 

[The Benjamins]

2 minutes ago, TigerHawk said:

This would be really amusing to get working with a business that has an automated phone system press 1 press 2 etc. Two robots holding a conversation with each other to set up an appointment for a human being. What a future we live in. 

Have Google assistant call Comcast to setup a tech appointment or something. see if it can manage the automated phone system.

[Fasterthannothing]

Dang this is crazy how real this sounds. I guess secretaries and peoples personal assistants will loose their jobs in a few years. 

[LogicWeasel]

This is looking like the early fruits of the AI Revolution.  The fact that Google is building this army of phone-based AI and can use it to fix Google Maps holiday hours for locations, is just the beginning.  It won't be long before we all have a personal assistant AI the likes of the one featured in the 2013 movie "Her".

[EunSoo]

3 hours ago, The Benjamins said:

Have Google assistant call Comcast to setup a tech appointment or something. see if it can manage the automated phone system.

that'd actually be insanely useful. 

[ItsMitch]

4 minutes ago, Sombra said:

that'd actually be insanely useful. 

Google vs Automated Phone System, Battle of the Ages. 

[Canada EH]

4 hours ago, SC2Mitch said:

google assistant

 

30 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

Google vs Automated Phone System, Battle of the Ages. 

Yeah but Google will profit from your info

[ItsMitch]

13 minutes ago, Canada EH said:

 

Yeah but Google will profit from your info

What company hasn't profited from your info? 

[Techicolors]

3 hours ago, Shorty88jr said:

Dang this is crazy how real this sounds. I guess secretaries and peoples personal assistants will loose their jobs in a few years. 

if automation continues then it'll be more than just secretaries and assistants 

[Fasterthannothing]

10 minutes ago, Technicolors said:

if automation continues then it'll be more than just secretaries and assistants 

Yeah very true I'm glad I'm an IT major at least I know I will have job security when the robots take over. 

[Canada EH]

45 minutes ago, SC2Mitch said:

What company hasn't profited from your info? 

yeah well they read your gmails so who knows what other shady stuff they will do now that they know who your calling with google assistant

 

For example - Doctors

Now they can sell info to your insurer if they so wish

[ItsMitch]

1 minute ago, Canada EH said:

yeah well they read your gmails so who knows what other shady stuff they will do now that they know who your calling with google assistant

 

For example - Doctors

Now they can sell info to your insurer if they so wish

If you actively use use Assistant then you know that it uses your data to help you to find relevant topics for you specifically (data grinding to the extreme) which I'm fine with tbh as long as it's within the law and falls in line with GDPR, also why would google need to sell data to your insurer when they know everything about you? 

[Canada EH]

1 hour ago, SC2Mitch said:

also why would google need to sell data to your insurer when they know everything about you? 

yup Google knows everything about you, and their info is for sale!

Say your health care insurance provider wants to know what you are searching on Google.com or why are you calling the doctor more then usual, then they start digging deeper. Or your automobile insurer. Or your investment company. Or your lawyer. Or Or Or Or Or Or