*By Alisha Haridasani*
New evidence suggests that Google's all-to-real sounding voice assistant may not be as life-like as it first seemed, raising questions about the status of the company's A.I. capabilities.
A [demo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd1mEm2Fy08) last month of the A.I.-powered Duplex voice assistant showed it interacting with humans to make a restaurant reservation and a haircut appointment. But some people are saying it was faked.
Axios’s Dan Primack [pointed out](https://www.axios.com/google-ai-demo-questions-9a57afad-9854-41da-b6e2-5e55b619283e.html) that the people picking up the calls in the two demos don't identify themselves, as is the norm when small businesses receive phone calls. There was also no ambient noise in the phone calls, and neither the hair salon or the restaurant asked for the caller’s phone number for the booking.
“The whole conceit of Google Duplex is that a robot would have a conversation with a human on the other end, potentially without a human having to jump in,” said Dana Wollman, executive editor at Engadget. “So people do want to feel that this interaction was real and authentic.”
The more likely scenario is that Google may have edited the recording, protecting the businesses or the privacy of the people who answered the call, said Wollman.
“I think it is still possible that it was based on a real exchange,” she said. “If I was in Google’s PR department I would probably want to be able to show a real working demo.”
Google hasn't directly responded on the record to journalists asking about the authenticity of the recordings.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/googles-duplex-dupe).
A bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) aims to tackle the spread of misinformation on social media platforms, as well as the addictive nature of the sites and negative mental health impacts they have on users. The 'Nudge Act' would require studies to find and compile potential interventions that platforms could use to encourage people to think before they share a post, or log off after spending too much time on an app. The FTC would create rules based on these findings, and hold the platforms accountable. But will it work? Jesse Lehrich, co-founder of Accountable Tech, joins Closing Bell to discuss the bill, whether real results and regulations could come from it, and more.
A.I.-based entertainment company, Deedub, recently raised
$20 million in a Series A round, led by Insight Partners. Deepdub uses A.I. technology to automate the dubbing process for foreign-language movies or TV shows, while using actors' original voices. The company says it can take just two to three minutes of data from an actor's voice and transform the voice into a different language. The funding comes as foreign-language films and shows like Netflix's 'Squid Game' have recently become more popular with audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Oz Krakowski, Chief Revenue Officer at Deepdub, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Energy Vault, the company developing sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions, is now trading on the New York Stock Exchange following the completion of its business combination with Novus Capital Corporation II. Energy Vault develops sustainable, grid-scale energy storage solutions designed to advance the transition to a carbon free, resilient power grid. Robert Piconi, co-founder and CEO of Energy Vault, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to disucss.
A new mobile app has launched just in time for Valentine's Day. Our.Love bills itself as an A.I.-powered, gamified, relationship wellness app for couples. The app is set in what the company calls the Coupleverse, a virtual world where each couple can build a virtual relationship home as they also build their real-world relationship. Founder and CEO Tal Zlotnitsky joined Cheddar to discuss how the app works. "The concept behind Our.Love is to give people the opportunity to understand where they stand in their relationship through very simple metrics that we provide within the app that will help them in real-time, see where they stand, see where their partner is, and be able to get closer together," he said.
Alyson Wilson, VP of Brand Innovation at Alo Yoga, joins Cheddar News to discuss the yoga apparel company entering the metaverse and teaming up with Spring Studios for New York Fashion Week.
