Fei-Fei Li said that the company's AI "elevates human interaction" and is "trustworthy"

Google seems to have learned a lesson at this year's I / O conference regarding artificial intelligence and how not to be too cavalier when introducing technology to the public.

The Google Cloud Next 18 conference kicked off Tuesday and Dr. Fei Fei Li, the main person in charge of artificial intelligence at Google, introduced a new AI system called Google Contact Center AI. This is designed to be the next generation of automated customer service voice.

Li led the audience through a demonstration, showing a system that skillfully understood natural language and quickly answered questions with relevant answers. The software and the human on the phone had what looked like a normal conversation between a customer and a customer service representative. It seems that the key days in our handsets 1 for yes, and 2 for no may soon be a thing of the past.

The presentation echoes a demo similar to I / O this year. That's when Google CEO Sundar Pichai unveiled Duplex, the restaurant reservation digital assistant who seemed so human that the people who spoke to him on the phone did not know that they were talking to an automated system.

This scared journalists and technology ethicists. The company has been criticized for using technology that could deceive humans or snatch jobs. This time, Li seemed to want to make sure everyone understands that Google's AI is not meant to put humans out of work.

"AI Contact Center is an example of our passion for introducing AI into all industries while elevating the role of human talent," Li told the audience. "We are creating technology that is not only powerful but is also trustworthy."

Google management said that the AI ​​is at the heart of the future and mission of the company and that leaders are trying to exploit it in the retail business , autonomous cars, research and advertising. Wall Street analysts have begun to predict big future profits thanks to AI.

AI Fears and Google's Ethics

But AI also trailed behind her public relations luggage. Nobody knows better than Li that AI is a sensitive subject. Li is a well-known AI expert and ethicist who took a sabbatical to join Google 18 months ago. In April, she found herself mingled with a controversy within Google about the company 's work with the military.

Google has agreed to provide IA tools to help analyze video footage of drones and thousands of employees have signed a petition asking that Google stop work and pledges to never build any more. 39; IA for weapons. Google agreed, but an e-mail exchange between Li and other managers indicated that Li was working hard to cultivate and sought to protect his reputation as a benefactor AI.

That the emails seemed to indicate that Li was in agreement that Google contributes to a Pentagon program has sparked criticism within the company, some thinking that his position was not in compliance to his previous comments on ethical AI. Obviously, Google's management does not seem to believe that Li has lost any credibility.

As for Contact Center AI, one question remains unanswered: what happens when technology evolves and perhaps becomes as good in customer service as humans? What happens to the workers then?