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Alibaba Already Has a Voice Assistant Way Better Than Google's (technologyreview.com)

Posted by msmash on from the closer-look dept.

Like Google's Duplex, Chinese internet giant Alibaba has its own humanlike voice assistant capable of making restaurant reservations and salon appointments. But unlike Google, which has rolled out the feature to select audience, Alibaba's offering already has a wider reach. And it's smart, too. From a report: On December 2 at the 2018 Neural Information Processing Systems conference, one of the largest annual gatherings for AI research, Alibaba demoed the AI customer service agent for its logistics company Cainiao. Jin Rong, the dean of Alibaba's Machine Intelligence and Technology Lab, said the agent is already servicing millions of customer requests a day. The pre-recorded demo call involved the agent asking a customer where he wanted his package delivered. In the back-and-forth exchange, the agent successfully navigated several conversational elements that demonstrated the breadth of its natural-language capabilities.

Take this exchange at the beginning of the call, translated from Mandarin: Agent: Hello, I am Cainiao's voice assistant. I am --
Customer: Hello.
A: Yes, hi, you have package scheduled for morning delivery to 588 Culture West Road. Is it convenient for you to receive?
C: Who are you?
A: I am Cainiao's voice assistant. I'd like to confirm your morning delivery to 588 Culture West Road. Does that work for you?
C: I'm not home in the morning.
A: Then do you have another address that you'd like to use?

Within 30 seconds, the agent has smoothly handled three common, and tricky, conversational ingredients: interruption, nonlinear conversation, and implicit intent. Interruption is self-explanatory: the agent can respond to the customer's interruption and continue relaying relevant information without starting over or skipping a beat.

12 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. I somehow feel good about this... by bogaboga · · Score: 2, Insightful

    From the summary:

    But unlike Google, which has rolled out the feature to select audience, Alibaba's offering already has a wider reach. And it's smart, too.

    When one consider's Google's latest [crazy] shenanigans with respect to Android's messaging, I feel good to a degree, that companies outside the USA, are showing Google what is possible.

    Further, Americans will soon come to realize that there's innovation from outside the continental USA; and that we may not be all that important when compared to some technological spots in the world.

    With these things happening, Google may perhaps wake up before it's too late.

    1. Re: I somehow feel good about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      News flash, we Americans already know that innovation comes from outside the US as well. However China has a reputation for stealing tech and claiming its their own. Their military is mostly made up of Soviet tech that granted they upgraded but still stole a bunch too. The insults on Americans are tiresome and ignorant. Its about as ignorant as claiming conservatives are anti science when many of us are in the IT field and highly educated. My kids are brought up to be opened minded and use common sense when dealing with life, Just as i was taught to. My wife is far more educated that i am and yet she too questions many things in society and science such as climate change. Does that make her anti science? No, just willing to do the research before blindingly believing in something and yes we are evil Christians too.

      Most of us keep our opinions to ourselves but every so often i feel the need to point out reality. I dont generalize anyone else so i expect the same treatment in return. As i tell my kids, I'm an equal opportunity offender, I hate everyone equally until they prove to be otherwise.

      -Geekpoet

    2. Re:I somehow feel good about this... by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nah, you will be fine with English, the trading tongue, sure it will change over time and incorporate other words from other languages, that can not be expressed in english, no word equivalent, without explaining them. Chinese can not win because, inefficient and a whole host of other languages ie German, Spanish, Japanese, Russian and even French. So bastardised English will trade dominate, for simple efficiency and neutral, American will be ignored of course.

      --
      Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen
    3. Re: I somehow feel good about this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I never said i dont believe in climate change, you did. I dont believe man is at fault for everything with the climate and just taxing us and removing fossil fuels will fix all the world's problems. As a logical and common sense person, the climate is always changing and goes in cycles, to say otherwise is ignorant. I also have a problem with the climate data when you cant get the original data, unmodified. However man can have an impact on the environment and needs handle things in a reasonable manor, not just based off extremes. In fact, the US is doing very well at reducing pollution without any paris accords. Better then just about any country. But keep believing all the claims about conservatives which are false. By the way, I'm s Blue Dog Democrat who believes in conservative ideas.

      - Geekpoet

    4. Re:I somehow feel good about this... by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Any time anything comes from China about any scientific advances they've made, those sorts of people are going to claim it's because "they fake science."

      That's because literally most of the "science" coming out of China is fake. We wait for corroboration before we believe because it's reasonable, not because we're prejudiced against Chinese people. The same people in a different system would probably produce superior output.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re: I somehow feel good about this... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Here's some of what I've learned over the years. I've been traveling to China for 20 years, lived in Shanghai from 2005 to 2011, and married a Chinese lady. I still spend about 3-4 months a year, at 2-4 weeks at a time, working with several Chinese suppliers and visiting friends and acquaintances.

      China, as a culture, does not have the same drive for innovation. Due to 40+ years of heavy, Government/Communist control (top-down), and the same ethos in most businesses (the boss is ALWAYS right, and you cannot challenge him unless you want to clean out your desk and move on), innovation really isn't rewarded, nor even encouraged.

      Innovation is looking at the world, and thinking "there's a better way". That is simply not what the ruling generation (50+), nor their kids, understand. Now THEIR kids (currently in grade school) will "get it", and change. The attitude is already starting to swing with the "gen X" age group, but out of deference to their parents and grandparents they maintain the old cultural norm against challenging your superiors.

      Additionally, the culture doesn't really do development well. There's a herd mentality, where there is often a good idea of where you are, where you want to be - and not a clue how to map out between the two. Most development happens the way most things in China happen - lots of people working on the problem and one of them gets lucky. There's very little planning and process down at the level needed for real development, or for any research/innovation.

      China, right now, really doesn't innovate. Even innovative companies start with someone else's direction, and typically require lots of intervention to complete their "innovation". There are a ton of really smart people over there, but culturally they are held back from actual innovation. Innovation happens with smart people in a room saying "we can do it better, and I can do better than you". China doesn't do that very well, at all, in a business situation. Doing better than your boss results in you losing your job - and thus it's implicitly discouraged to try to innovate.

      Go live in the culture over there for several months - you'll get it. New ideas aren't pursued, disagreements about direction/solutions is actively discouraged, not just doing as you're told risks losing your job.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    6. Re: I somehow feel good about this... by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 2

      Precisely. Which means I have a unique perspective and can better see the strengths and weaknesses of the culture.

      --
      Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    7. Re: I somehow feel good about this... by Tablizer · · Score: 2

      Doing better than your boss results in you losing your job - and thus it's implicitly discouraged to try to innovate.

      How is that different in the USA? HP turned down Steve Wozniak's desktop computer idea, and he had to quit to pursue it. The most successful startups begin in a garage, loft, or dorm, not a regular company with suits.

      One can relatively easily go off and start a company in China also. Perhaps the idea of challenging the boss or elders is somewhat more accepted here, but you usually have to kiss up to those who control your paycheck in any business. Take it from an American boat-rocker.

      --
      Table-ized A.I.
  2. Re:Oranges to apples? by Tablizer · · Score: 4, Informative

    From the article: "That Alibaba's voice assistant can do so suggests it's more sophisticated than Google Duplex, judging from similar sample calls demoed by Google. It's worth noting, however, that Alibaba's demo call is designed for onstage presentation; the experience could differ in reality. Currently, the agent is used only to coordinate package deliveries, but Jin said it could be expanded to handle other topics. He wouldn't fully reveal how the assistant was trained..."

    --
    Table-ized A.I.
  3. Knowing the region by ArchieBunker · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's probably more mechanical turk than AI bot.

    --
    Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
  4. decency, not feminism. by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

    Well, American companies already cripple their AI assistants intentionally in the name of feminism

    It's not crippled, it just doesn't indulge people in their own reprehensible behavior.

    From the article:

    In spring of 2017, Alexa’s writers gave her a “disengage mode.” She now responds to sexually explicit questions by saying either “I’m not going to respond to that,” or “I’m not sure what outcome you expected.”

    Sorry if you this triggers you but you're being a real snowflake.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  5. Re:Oranges to apples? by WindBourne · · Score: 2

    yes, but it is NOT Alibaba that is doing the misrepresentation. It is Karen Hao who got here ME, but could not go with it. So, she has tried to move to software with data and apparently failed at that. Now is working on being a reporter and in AI. Sadly, she does NOT have a background in either software OR AI, so does not understand why this article has MAJOR issues. And yeah, Tabilizer is spot on.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.