From a standpoint of pure technological ingenuity, the most memorable section of yesterday's keynote at Google's I/O conference was the unveiling of Duplex, an AI service that can place phone calls and converse with a human on the other end.

在谷歌昨天召开的I/O（输入/输出）大会上，最令人难忘的主题就是谷歌从纯技术独创性的角度推出了Duplex技术，这是一种可以拨打电话并与电话另一端的人交谈的人工智能服务。

Starting this summer, Google plans to use it to let its Google Assistant handle mundane tasks such as making a haircut appointment or inquiring about a business’s holiday hours.

今年夏天，谷歌计划开始使用该技术让谷歌助手处理一些日常工作，例如预约理发或咨询一家公司的节假日营业时间。

Judging from the two real calls replayed on the conference, it could be one of the most eerily human feats a computer has ever accomplished.

从会议上重播的两段真实的电话录音来判断，它可能是至今为止人类使一台电脑实现的最神秘的成就之一了。

The recordings gave no evidence that the small-business employees on the other end of the line caught wise to the fact they were conversing with a machine.

这段录音证明，电话另一端的小型企业的职员并未意识到他们在与一台机器交谈。

Google’s blog post on Duplex explains how its creators made the technology sound so natural, including the fact that it inserts “hmms” and “uh”s into its synthesized speech.

谷歌通过博客上的一篇帖子解释了Duplex技术的创造者是如何使这项技术听起来那么自然，其中包括在合成语音中插入“hmms”（嗯）和“uh”（哦）等语气词。

“It’s important to us that users and businesses have a good experience with this service, and transparency is a key part of that. We want to be clear about the intent of the call so businesses understand the context. We’ll be experimenting with the right approach over the coming months,” a Google representative said.

“对我们而言，重要的是用户和企业可以从这项服务中获得很好的体验，而且清楚易懂是其中很重要的一部分。我们想要使这通电话的目的明确，这样企业就可以明白其背景。在接下来的几个月中，我们会用正确的方式来进行实验，”谷歌的一位销售代表说道。

At the start of the conference, Google CEO Sundar Pichai expressed a sentiment about the company’s new technologies and their impact on society.

在此次大会开场的时候，谷歌总裁桑达·皮采说明了他对公司推出的新技术的看法以及它们对社会的影响。

“We know the path ahead needs to be navigated carefully and deliberately,” he said. “And we feel a deep sense of responsibility to get this right.”

“我们知道，我们需要细心谨慎地确定前进的方向，”他说道。“而且我们有着一种强烈的责任感，要把这项技术搞清楚。”

That’s the proper attitude—and Duplex’s launch will provide an opportunity to show Google takes its responsibility seriously.

这是一种正确的态度，而且推出Duplex技术将为谷歌提供一个展示其认真负责的机会。

（翻译：Dlacus）