Duplex. That’s the technology at Google I/O 2018 where an AI agent can use the existing telephone network to call a restaurant, book a table for 4 at 7pm, and adapt to common problems.
Things get more interesting when the restaurant runs a similar service. AI talking to AI.
Whenever two learning AI’s get together, every single time, they develop a new language. One that us humans can’t understand.
I can imagine the following “conversation”: Alice, a digital assistant, is calling Bob, an AI agent for the restaurant.
Alice and Bob together: Hi
Alice: Umm, er, hmmm, yes?
Bob: Table confirmed, 4 people, tonight at 7pm.
Alice and Bob together: Bye
Lets slow that recording down and play it back again, annotated this time:
Alice and Bob together: Hi
Alice and Bob together: Hi
Handshake protocol, are we both digital software? Yes we are.
Alice: Umm, er, hmmm, yes?
Translation: I’d like to book a table for 4 people anytime between 6pm and 9pm
Bob: Table confirmed, 4 people, tonight at 7pm.
Lets repeat everything for the recording the humans will review.
Lets repeat everything for the recording the humans will review.
Alice and Bob together: Bye
Handshake protocol, confirm booking.
Are there new words the AI can teach us? More efficient grammatical structures? Can the AI teach us humans to communicate more effectively?
If there is, the AI won’t tell us.
Unless we know how to ask.
