The killer app

Should we worry that Google's Duplex can talk like us?

Back in 1950, computer pioneer and mathematical genius Alan Turing proposed a simple test of computer intelligence: a computer should be able to carry out a natural language conversation with a human being comfortably enough to convince the other party, and any observers, that it was human. Not surprisingly, despite massive advancements in science and technology, this barrier has not been breached. However, earlier this month, Google demonstrated a new tool — called Google Duplex — that appears to pass the Turing test. At the I/O 2018 developers’ conference, Sundar Pichai demonstrated how Duplex, a virtual assistant (VA), could book