Google demos Duplex, its AI that sounds exactly like a very weird, nice human

"Hi, I'm calling to make a reservation," the polite female voice on the other end of the line said. And that was how I found myself introduced to Google's latest AI masterpiece, the conversation-filler-injecting Turing test contender known as Duplex. When Google rolls it out to some users for testing in the coming weeks, Duplex will be a tool within the Google Assistant app that the testers can use to call stores on their behalf and find out their holiday hours. Later this summer, it will also be able to call restaurants and salons to set up reservations and hair appointments. It was unveiled in May at the company's annual developer conference to much fanfare and, in the days later, much fuss.