The tides are Turing: What Google Duplex means for PR

By Lily Gordon

Enter Bletchley Park, England at the height of World War II. Working alongside some of the world's brightest minds in a top-secret facility, twenty-something Alan Turing was decoding the Axis Force's encrypted messages. While his work directly contributed to several major Nazi defeats, his most enduring legacy is something called the Turing test, which deals with artificial intelligence. Recently, his test has been a point of conversation, as it seems to have been cracked by some unlikely decoders -- machines themselves. 

Photo credit TargetTech

As an early computer scientist, Alan wanted to know if machines could think. Could a computer exhibit behavior that was on par with, or maybe even indistinguishable from, that of a human? He specifically asked: "Are there imaginable digital computers which would do well in the imitation game?" To find out, he created what is today known as the Turing test. A researcher interacts with both a machine and a human, asking questions and receiving responses. If the researcher cannot determine which respondent is human and which is a machine, then the computer is deemed to have passed the Turing test. 

Photo credit Computer Science Field Guide

In the time since Alan came up with his test, it's faced scrutiny on many levels. That said, it has indubitably contributed a great deal to the philosophical understanding of AI. Will humans interact with computers the same way we do with other humans? What defines a sentient being and does it matter if we know if we're chatting with one or not? Thought leaders of various disciplines have been asking these questions for decades, but recent developments in AI capabilities as well as the launch of Google Duplex are causing a new sense of urgency within this specific conversation. What will these developments mean for users and, more specifically, communications professionals? 

This May, Google debuted its new digital assistant, Google Duplex. Relying on AI capabilities, this new tool can schedule appointments and manage customer requests for users. But what sets it apart from an online calendar that can, say, email your roommate or colleague to set up a coffee date, is that it actually calls the hair salon and chats with the receptionist to schedule the hair cut -- in a very human way. No um's or ah's are spared. This was a groundbreaking example of a machine passing the Turing test.

"10 Completely Inappropriate Uses for Google's AI Phone Calls" from tom's guide

When looking at the scheduling functionalities of Google Duplex, a PR professional's face may light up in delight. Emails and phone calls back and forth with a media contact trying to set up an interview or other engagement squander precious time. If an easy-to-talk-to bot could manage such arrangements, it could open up longer stretches of time for communications professionals to seriously focus on projects that demand the kind of critical thinking unique to humans, such as creative storytelling or identifying ethical hot spots and applicable solutions. At nonprofits, where budgets are typically tight, eliminating simple yet mundane tasks via AI would greatly increase the cost-to-benefit ratio of a communications employee and very likely the business on a whole. Even political campaigns could have the candidate "personally" call voters with a software similar to Duplex and appeal to constituents through a live dialogue. 

But what right do individuals have to know if they're talking to a bot or an actual person? The technology within Google Duplex could be repurposed to imitate a CEO or other exec member who would be an excellent spokesperson, but doesn't have the time to prepare then participate in high quality interviews. Why not do the verbal version of what PR people have been doing for decades? Stick to the company mission and craft CEO quotes without actually requiring the CEO to speak. Most C-suite quotes in press releases and articles were actually written by someone on the communications team. How is that different than an AI that sounds exactly like the spokesperson acting as a surrogate? Already famous robot Sophia may need some adjustments in order to be less creepy in interviews, but the potential for phone interviews with a Duplex-esque bot is real. 

Apparently Illinois is really interested in Google Duplex.

Google Duplex passed the Turing test with flying colors. Looking to the future, it could prove not only a useful Scheduling Assistant, but PR Assistant as well. Eliminating mundane, uncreative tasks is an area in which AI excels. Why not take advantage of that? The threats of false impersonation, specifically for spammy robocalls and posing as a spokesperson, are a legitimate danger. Then again, how do PR professionals today prevent nefarious actors from interfering with their carefully planned media relations? Reputable reporters are smart enough to understand the importance of corresponding directly with an official communications representative at an organization. A chief threat could be in the political sphere with opponents executing smear campaigns via an eerily accurate AI imitation of their challenger. Controlling such uses proves tricky. 

Credit The New York Times (Source Federal Trade Commission) 

Moving forward, PR practitioners need to examine Google Duplex and similar emerging technologies seriously. Just as the internet, instant messenger services and email have all completely transformed the communications field, AI bots will, too. What would Alan Turing think about machines today? His test may have been kicked down by Google Duplex, but the jury is still out on what this new generation of AI will do. If the below conversation between two Cleverbots indicates anything, we may just have to brace ourselves for weirdly existential bickering between bots, reminiscent of an old married couple...