While Google quietly removed the "don't do evil" clause from its mission statement, apparently work on this project has moved at a snail's pace due to ethical concerns stemming from Duplex's debut at I/O in May.

Namely, that it wasn't clear if the hair salon or Chinese restaurant employees were aware that they were speaking to a synthesized human voice rather than a warm-blooded homo sapiens. Google later clarified that Duplex would disclose itself as an AI when making calls.

Plenty of call centers are automated at this point, it's just that none of those robo-operators could pass the Turing test. While Duplex sounds like it absolutely did, Google says it isn't actively testing the tech with potential enterprise clients. The other side is that this could be another case of computers taking over low-skill jobs that'd typically be done by humans.

As The Information notes, plenty of other companies offer their digital assistants for similar tasks. Amazon, for example, has made its plans to offer commercial versions of Alexa for call centers abundantly clear already. Google makes money hand over fist on its enterprise services as is, and this could be the next step toward boosting its revenues even higher.

Update 7/5/18 5:40PM ET: Google says it isn't testing Duplex with any enterprise clients, and is instead focusing on getting the consumer version nailed down first. We've clarified this post to reflect that information. Here's the full statement from a Google spokesperson: