When Google introduced Google Duplex, its AI assistant designed to speak like a human, the company showed off how the average person could use the tech to save time making reservations and whatnot. What wasn't touched on was the possibility that Duplex may have a use on the other side of the line, taking over for call center employees and telemarketers. A report from The Information suggests Google may be making a play to find other applications for its human-sounding assistant and has already started experimenting with ways to use Duplex to do with away roles currently filled by humans--a move that could have ramifications for millions of people. Citing a person familiar with Google's plans, The Information reported the company is already in conversation with at least one potential customer that would like to integrate Duplex into its operations. That firm, an unnamed large insurance company, is reportedly interested in using the voice assistant to handle simple, straightforward customer service calls.

I was in a Brooklyn restaurant the other week and overheard a young man -- definitely a millennial like myself -- arguing with an older couple, most likely his parents, about a variety of topics: healthcare, the point of full-time employment, phones. He really hates using the phone, and to prove just how unnecessary it's become, he pointed to Google Duplex. Google Duplex is a new AI assistant that performs tasks over the phone like booking a haircut or making a restaurant reservation, and its unveiling at Google's developer event in May made for what the Verge called "perhaps the most jaw-dropping moment" of CEO Sundar Pichai's keynote speech (skip ahead to 35:00). In a replay of a real phone conversation with a restaurant employee, a shockingly human-sounding robot booked a reservation, negotiating misunderstandings over the date and number of people without missing a beat. Pichai said at the time that Google Duplex was years in the making, and today, a fully functional version of the technology is still a ways off.

The perfect Tinder photo: yes, it has to get you on your good side and disguise that double chin, but is there more to it than just looking good? Hana Michels, a comedian and writer from LA, who shared a screengrab of her Tinder profile to Twitter this week, found that a lot of men whom she matched with weren't interested in her at all but in her toilet paper holder. She explained that she had been chastised by no fewer than 23 men in a year for the direction in which her toilet paper was facing – a small detail in the background of the photo. This is my tinder profile. I've had it for a year.

Have you been wanting to buy one of those Amazon Echo talking speakers, but never got around to it? Mark Monday, July 16 on your calendar: there will probably be a great deal on one. Amazon's Prime Day is set for Monday, July 16th, the made-up summer holiday that's turned into one of the e-tailer's biggest sales day of the year. On today's episode of #TalkingTech, we offer tips on how to start preparing now to save on Prime Day, one of Amazon's biggest sales days of the year. The sale starts Monday July 16 at 12 p.m. Pacific/3 p.m. Eastern.

Tinder is finally allowing users to animate their profile prictures. The dating app today confirmed its'loops' feature is available globally, after it was initially tested in Canada and Sweden. It allows two second video loops to be uploaded. The dating app today confirmed its'loops' feature is available globally, after it was initially tested in Canada and Sweden. 'It all started with the swipe--that fun, simple movement that changed the way people meet,' Tinder said in a blog post announcing the new feature.

When Google first introduced its phone-calling digital concierge Duplex in May, some thought it sounded too human, while others worried that it would secretly record calls with people. Despite the massive backlash over the system, it appears Google is pushing ahead with plans to replace call center workers across the globe with its AI. According to The Information, Google is already in talks with customers, including a major insurance firm, about creating call center versions of the system. Google is hoping it's Duplex technology will be far more natural and lifelike that its competition. 'At least one potential customer, a large insurance company, is looking at ways it can use the technology, according to the person with knowledge of the project, including for call centers where the voice assistant could handle simple and repetitive customer calls while humans step in when the conversations get more complicated,' The Information said.

Conexant got Synaptics in the far-field voice-enabled market represented by products like the Amazon Echo, Google Home and Apple HomePod. In fact, Synaptics is designed into HomePod, and most Alexa-based smart devices. I can foresee in the not so distant future where we see voice input on just about every kind of device in the many rooms in the home, in the car and even at work, globally. Look at the way Samsung is driving Bixby into every one of Samsung's consumer devices. I also see voice as a big driver in the AR and VR market as voice enhances the UX as the user can't touch anything or of course, use a mouse.

Bixby Home is getting smarter. Well, in the sense that now in the US, Samsung's virtual assistant will offer sports scores and up-to-the-minute news coverage through a partnership with theScore. Swiping right on "select" Galaxy device home-screens including the S9 and S9 Plus gives access to the stats and news. To make the feature a little more useful, you can even follow your favorite teams and leagues so only the news that matters to you will show up. It all sounds pretty comprehensive too, with scores and news for EPL soccer, MLB baseball, NBA basketball, NFL football and NHL hockey.

If you're a dating app regular, you know that a photo only says so much about yourself. But do you really want to go to the trouble of recording a whole video for people who could swipe left before you've even spoken a word? Tinder thinks there's a better balance between the two. It's launching a Loops feature that (surprise) adds two-second looping videos to your profile alongside the usual still shots. You just have to trim an existing video to portray yourself as a fun-loving party person or tender romantic. The feature is initially available for iOS users in the US, UK, Canada and large chunks of Western Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

If your Google Home, Home Mini and/or Google Chromecast streaming stick were not working properly, you are not alone. Google Home, Home Mini, and Chromecast were down globally for many users for several hours, leaving a lot of people with trouble watching TV, controlling smart home gadgets, and listening to music. Yesterday, hundreds of Chromecasts and Home users began complaining about their devices not working properly on both the official "Made by Google" Twitter account and Down Detector. Later, Google confirmed that its Home and Chromecast across the world went down due to an unspecified "issue," and that the company was investigating the issue and working on a solution, but did not provide any kind of explanation about the glitch. The issue appears to be affecting devices that work using Google's Home technology, which is a smart ecosystem that allows users to stream content to devices.