# voice assistants: yay or nay?



## Aelthwyn (Oct 27, 2010)

I don't use it. I haven't really felt the need, and feel rather silly talking to it anyways. Maybe if I could give it a name myself *shrug*

I can see how it could be useful when your hands aren't free, like in the car for sending a text or changing what music you're listening to without needing to mess with your phone.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Alexa can now control your HP printer HP supports Alexa, Cortana and Google Assistant skills.

https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/alexa-control-hp-printer/


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

The best Alexa-compatible smart-home devices for Amazon EchoEverything from doorbells to sprinkler controls.


https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/02/the-best-alexa-compatible-smart-home-devices-for-amazon-echo/


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

engadget.com Spotify might be building a smart speaker of its own


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## ImminentThunder (May 15, 2011)

I love my voice assistants. I use Siri if I’m cooking or something and don’t want to touch my phone. I also have both Alexa (an Echo Dot) and Google Home (won it in a raffle), and I mostly use them for checking the weather, jokes, and other simple things. 

My brother has an Alexa power outlet thingy which allows him to turn off his bedroom light with his voice, which I think is tons of fun...maybe it’s just me. 

Also coded a super simple “fact skill” for Alexa based on a template and I’d like to do something more involved in the near future.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)




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## Katie Koopa (Jun 25, 2014)

I have Siri on my phone and I've used it a couple of times. I often forget my phone even has that feature.


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## Skeletalz (Feb 21, 2015)

Voice assistants are yet another example of a useless gadget that supposedly solves some problem or improves productivity while in reality all it does is allow for the person to devolve and degrade because it is yet another external device, another part of the wheelchair that takes over a function that is normally taken care of by the person. The result is that that function in the human withers away and atrophies into nothing as the person no longer uses that ability. An obvious downside to this is that when Alexa isnt around, the person useless when it comes to filling the functions of Alexa. How people dont realize that this same mechanic applies to most of modern technology, that they are becoming more and more retarded as devices are added into their life and as autonomy is taken away from them, I dont understand.


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## The red spirit (Sep 29, 2015)

One of the biggest bullshit "technologies" of this or maybe last century (depends from when you want to count)

This shit can just burn in hell. Also I would want to be Satan to see that turd burning and disappearing from my sight.


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## Peppermint Mocha (Jun 19, 2011)

I like it. It's a fun and quick way to get information without manually searching for it or touching your device

Is is necessary? No, it is just a novelty as it doesn't take that much longer to manually search for anything. Plus it records all your history of commands/searches and is constantly monitoring to pickup the sound of your voice so it's not all that private


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Amazon's Alexa Is Coming To an Office Near You  (axios.com)


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

engadget.com Google Assistant gets a proper home on the iPad


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

engadget.com *IBM's Watson-based voice assistant is coming to cars and smart homes*

IBM has officially launched the Watson Assistant at its annual Think conference, and you might encounter it in various locations in the future. It's not tied to a single or even just a few products, you see -- unlike Siri that's tied to Apple's products, IBM's partners can load it onto their cars, smart home devices, office gadgets, so on and so forth. It could be infused into hospitality applications, say to serve as a smart assistant for hotels. It could have a future in retail, banking, and just about any industry, since the tech titan's partners can teach it a specific industry's lingo.

n IBM's sample scenario, it said Watson Assistant can automatically check you into your hotel and make sure your rental car (so long as it has a Watson-powered console) is ready as soon as you walk out the airport. The car's console can suggest locations to visit en route to your hotel, as well. If the hotel uses a smart assistant powered by IBM's AI, then it can automatically tweak your room's temperature and lighting based on your preferences and even start playing music you like when you're almost there. The hotel room's (Watson-powered) wall dashboard can also display your schedule and emails before you even walk in using the electronic key automatically sent to your phone.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

People Were Asked To Name Women Tech Leaders. They Said 'Alexa' and 'Siri'  (fastcompany.com)


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

theconversation.com The existential case for ditching Alexa and other AI


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

The Ick Factor of Computers That Converse Like People Can AI risk sounding _too _human?

https://slate.com/technology/2018/04/the-ick-factors-of-chatbots-that-sound-like-people.html


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## Catwalk (Aug 12, 2015)

GPS only


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## LindsyClarke80s (Mar 30, 2018)

Nay


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

engadget.com Spotify voice control is coming to UE's Alexa-powered speakers


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

engadget.com LG's G7 packs a dedicated Google Assistant button


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## Remiel (Apr 13, 2018)

I'd even argue that it's cancer in software form.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

businessinsider.com Amazon expands Alexa's presence in the car and home


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant Is Smarter Than Alexa, Study Finds*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant now works with every major smart home device brand*


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## incision (May 23, 2010)

Voice assistants are often easily hackable and create dependencies so...pass.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant arrives on LG's 2018 premium TVs*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)




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## Witch of Oreo (Jun 23, 2014)

Not only support for Russian language is far from perfect, it's easier and faster for me to type stuff to find in the app. I also have yet to find assistant that allows sex chat. Ergo, my two most important use cases are not resolved efficiently.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon's Experience Centers let you try out Alexa in a home setting*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon Alexa Device Recorded a Family's Private Conversation and Sent It to Someone on Their Contact List*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Zooms By Amazon In Smart Speaker Shipments, Report Says*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon Explains Why Alexa Recorded And Emailed A Private Conversation*


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## Koniak (Apr 30, 2018)

Creepyay...


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant Are Coming To Xbox One*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

businessinsider.com Japan's $2,700 answer to the Amazon Echo could make the country's sex crisis even worse


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## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

ae1905 said:


> voice assistants (eg, apple siri, amazon alexa, google assistant) have been around for a while but have become more popuplar, eg,
> 
> https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/14/study-says-1-in-6-americans-has-smart-speaker/
> 
> ...


I do not use any kind of a smart speaker or voice assistant. I much prefer to handle whatever I need to manually. I have a coworker that uses a voice assistant but I've never cared for it. I can see the use sometimes such as when you're driving but I wouldn't consider it to be important. Perhaps that's a matter of personal preference. I declined to answer the second question in the poll because I think voice assistants can be both important and unimportant depending on the person.


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## Miss Nightingale (Aug 10, 2013)

The kind of things people will be into at first for the novelty before eventually losing interest and going back to their normal ways of doing things.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon Brings Alexa To Hotels*


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## tanstaafl28 (Sep 10, 2012)

I guess the closest I get is the WAZE app on my phone.


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## DoIHavetohaveaUserName (Nov 25, 2015)

No I don't use any.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*The number of Google Assistant-enabled devices has exploded in 2018*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant now controls your Roku devices*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon prepares Alexa for the midterm elections*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Alexa can tell you when your favorite artists release new music*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

Google Assistant will tell you exactly when and where to vote, so you can go voteAsk Google Assistant where to vote, and it will give you the precise location and open hours of your polling


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon releases Alexa app for Windows 10*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Apple's Siri May Soon Process Voice Locally On a Device, No Cloud Required*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

^


one way to use the surplus power apple's cpus have


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

I only use it in the car to be hands free. Siri sucks to be honest. It gets about 80% of what I say right. I only text a handful of people with it that know I'm driving and using it so I don't piss anyone off. It also sucks that Siri requires a data connection. I can't even change the song I'm playing in a lot of the remote places I travel.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Alexa can wake up more of your smart home devices*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Microsoft is selling Amazon Echo speakers in its stores*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*You can now sync Chromecast with Google Home speakers*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*LG's first Google Assistant-powered smart display is rolling out*


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## Mange (Jan 9, 2011)

View attachment 813813


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google takes a Shortcut to link Assistant and Siri*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*All of Amazon's new Echo speakers reviewed*


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

Besides using Siri on my phone while driving, I don't use any of the other voice assistants. I'll be hard pressed to make my home "smart."


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon is Teaching Alexa To Speak Like a Newscaster*

The way newscasters speak is unmistakeable, with their exaggerated modulations and drawn-out pauses. And now, Amazon has taught Alexa, its voice assistant, to approximate the authoritative intonation


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant gets visual lyrics and more in big holiday update*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google is using AI to curate personalized news for smart speakers*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Amazon Says 100 Million Alexa Devices Have Been Sold*


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## Belzy (Aug 12, 2013)

jcal said:


> I REFUSE to talk to machines!


Agreed. I prefer to talk to cats.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant will soon be listening on one billion devices*

Anything Amazon can do, Google can do better?


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Here is developing a car navigation system powered by Alexa*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Instant Pot makes Google Assistant your new sous chef*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Petcube cameras add Alexa voice controls for the laziest pet owners*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Anker's Roav Bolt puts Google Assistant in your car*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*KitchenAid's smart display shrugs off sauce and running water*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Brilliant smart home hub now supports Apple HomeKit*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)




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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Razer integrates Alexa with its color-changing PC hardware*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant in a smart display offers helpful live interpretation*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Assistant will soon check into your flight for you*

*Google Assistant will finally field requests in Maps*

*Google stuffed Assistant in a smart button and e-ink screen*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Lenovo’s new Smart Clock brings Google Assistant to your nightstand*


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## PowerShell (Feb 3, 2013)

ae1905 said:


> *Lenovo’s new Smart Clock brings Google Assistant to your nightstand*


It's called a smartphone. That's what I use as an alarm clock.


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Google Home Gets Real-Time Interpretations For 27 languages*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Sonos finally showed Google Assistant working on its speakers*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Breaking down the Google Assistant news and strategy for 2019*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)

*Even bicycles have Alexa now*


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## ae1905 (Jun 7, 2014)




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