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.

在谷歌昨天召開的I/O（輸入/輸出）大會上，最令人難忘的主題就是谷歌從純技術獨創性的角度推出了Duplex技術，這是一種可以撥打電話并與電話另一端的人交談的人工智能服務。

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，谷歌計劃開始使用該技術讓谷歌助手處理一些日常工作，例如預約理發或咨詢一家公司的節假日營業時間。

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.

從會議上重播的兩段真實的電話錄音來判斷，它可能是至今為止人類使一臺電腦實現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.

這段錄音證明，電話另一端的小型企業的職員并未意識到他們在與一臺機器交談。

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.

谷歌通過博客上的一篇帖子解釋了Duplex技術的創造者是如何使這項技術聽起來那么自然，其中包括在合成語音中插入“hmms”（嗯）和“uh”（哦）等語氣詞。

“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.

“對我們而言，重要的是用戶和企業可以從這項服務中獲得很好的體驗，而且清楚易懂是其中很重要的一部分。我們想要使這通電話的目的明確，這樣企業就可以明白其背景。在接下來的幾個月中，我們會用正確的方式來進行實驗，”谷歌的一位銷售代表說道。

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

在此次大會開場的時候，谷歌總裁桑達·皮采說明了他對公司推出的新技術的看法以及它們對社會的影響。

“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.”

“我們知道，我們需要細心謹慎地確定前進的方向，”他說道。“而且我們有著一種強烈的責任感，要把這項技術搞清楚。”

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

這是一種正確的態度，而且推出Duplex技術將為谷歌提供一個展示其認真負責的機會。

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.

在谷歌昨天召開的I/O（輸入/輸出）大會上，最令人難忘的主題就是谷歌從純技術獨創性的角度推出了Duplex技術，這是一種可以撥打電話并與電話另一端的人交談的人工智能服務。

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，谷歌計劃開始使用該技術讓谷歌助手處理一些日常工作，例如預約理發或咨詢一家公司的節假日營業時間。

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.

從會議上重播的兩段真實的電話錄音來判斷，它可能是至今為止人類使一臺電腦實現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.

這段錄音證明，電話另一端的小型企業的職員并未意識到他們在與一臺機器交談。

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.

谷歌通過博客上的一篇帖子解釋了Duplex技術的創造者是如何使這項技術聽起來那么自然，其中包括在合成語音中插入“hmms”（嗯）和“uh”（哦）等語氣詞。

“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.

“對我們而言，重要的是用戶和企業可以從這項服務中獲得很好的體驗，而且清楚易懂是其中很重要的一部分。我們想要使這通電話的目的明確，這樣企業就可以明白其背景。在接下來的幾個月中，我們會用正確的方式來進行實驗，”谷歌的一位銷售代表說道。

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

在此次大會開場的時候，谷歌總裁桑達·皮采說明了他對公司推出的新技術的看法以及它們對社會的影響。

“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.”

“我們知道，我們需要細心謹慎地確定前進的方向，”他說道。“而且我們有著一種強烈的責任感，要把這項技術搞清楚。”

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

這是一種正確的態度，而且推出Duplex技術將為谷歌提供一個展示其認真負責的機會。