Best or worst invention ever? (Google Duplex)

Hello everyone,

Everytime my attention gets drawn to another technical invention I feel like torn inside.

On the one hand I get excited and I feel like a little kid seeing another dream come true, but on the other hand I feel a kind of fear in my heart that tells me "Maybe this is going to far, maybe one day this will be one of the biggest mistakes we have made, if we look back in 100 years."

Because technical inventions, espescially A.I. to me, feels like something that could get out of control very fast, if we cross a certain point.

And I feel like Google Duplex is one of these things. When I´ve heard of it for the first time I had goosebumbs all over my body and I had the feeling of "now this is the one step, we shouldn´t have taken. This is too much". Besides of that it´s one of the best things I´ve heard of in a long time.

What is Google Duplex:

Well Google Duplex is a Software who works like a secretary.
Let´s say you need a table at a restaurant on Friday at 10pm, but either you don´t want to call the restaurant or you don´t have time for it, just tell it to Google Duplex. It will call the restaurant for you and book the table for you.
The special thing about it is: When it calls the restaurant, the person on the other side of the phone will not be able to recognize, that she is talking to a A.I. because it sounds like a real human.
It speaks fluently, it uses filling phrases like "oh" or "ähm" or" hmmm" just to pretend that it´s human.
It also understands what the other person is telling him, and is able to answer correctly even if some kind of complications show up.

Well, I think to be able to understand what I mean you should see it for yourself. Just watch this short video, including two examples of the skills of Google Duplex.
Get ready to get your mind blown.

Well, what do you think now?

Where is the problem?

Do you know what the Turing Theorie is? It is a theory of Alan Turing, developed in 1950 where he invented a "test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior equivalent to, or indistinguishable from, that of a human." (Wikipedia)

Here´s a short video about it:

So the problem here is obvious. Google Duplex has broken this boundary for the first time ever.

I´m not sure yet wether this is super cool or really dangerous. Just think of the robots that are invented all over the world, who look quite exactly like a human beeing, combined with the skills of Google Duplex in 5 years. Am I the only one who gets Goosebumbs here?

I don´t think so.

Just let me know what you think of this ?

And have a nice day by the way.

Bye

Nicole