Google seems to want to introduce AI into its Messages mobile application, with a function capable of automatically composing replies to text messages. Real technological advance or simple gadget to follow fashion?
What if your smartphone answered your text messages for you? As far-fetched as it may seem, the idea would be making its way to Google, through its mobile application Messages. The specialists of 9to5Google have just detected traces of a new function in a beta version of messaging. By dissecting the APK file, they discovered the existence of a mysterious button with a spark-shaped icon to launch what looks like an artificial intelligence capable of automatically writing a message. For the time being, it is content to display an enigmatic TODO – “to do”, in French – in the input field, proof that the function is only at an experimental stage. But it clearly hints at the introduction of an AI-powered writing module…
This curious discovery raises the question: what good is an AI for writing messages? This question is all the more legitimate since Google already offers automatic response functions with its famous Smart Replies. These “smart replies”, which can be found in both the Messages app and Gmail, are more than enough to quickly reply to a message with a simple and succinct text that varies according to the context – for example, “Thank you” , “You’re welcome”, “OK, it works”, “It’s good for me”, “Bon voyage”, etc. Not to mention that the Google Assistant also allows you to send messages triggered by voice commands using keywords – for example: by dictating “Tell mom I’m leaving”, the assistant immediately sends an SMS with “I’m leaving !” in contact with Mom. It is difficult to see the interest of such a tool when it comes to sending a simple SMS with an AI, if not to scrounge up barely a few seconds on the manual entry of a short text or the recording a voice message…
Google has not made any official statement for the moment when this possible function, we can only make assumptions about its use and its interest. On a technical level, we imagine that this tool must be based on Bard, Google’s ChatGPT, which is based on the LaMDA language model, to automatically generate a response adapted to the message received – which involves the use of an Internet connection. , via Wi-Fi or the 4G or 5G mobile network. But would this mode be suitable for all correspondents, or only for those communicating via RCS, the “replacement” of traditional SMS? Either way, it seems logical that the AI would just write proposals, not send them automatically – still happy!
This technological advance, the scope of which is still difficult to grasp, also raises questions in terms of the protection of personal data and privacy. It will be crucial for Google to guarantee the security and confidentiality of the information exchanged through its application, especially when we know that the American giant is fond of our personal data (see our article on controlling what you give to Google and our file convenient to manage them) and that he has often been fined for their misuse in the past.