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I tried Google for a few days. I admit the notification telling me when to leave work to arrive on time for my next appointment with the best route was impressi

by rloc 11y ago

I tried Google for a few days. I admit the notification telling me when to leave work to arrive on time for my next appointment with the best route was impressive when I saw it first (the AI behind at least). But quickly I stopped using it for these reasons: 1) I had to get ready to let go to much private data 2) I hate talking to a thing and it makes me look ridiculous both in public and in private (the social awkwardness might improve though in time, humans can get used to anything :) ). 3) It impacts the smartphone battery life 4) As stated in the article, it's never perfect so a single frustration in the experience makes it basically useless compared to accomplishing the task the old way. I'm obsessed with productivity. 5) Voice commands are perfectly suited in cars but I don't own any. 6) What about the impact on memory and cognitive skills, it probably won't help improving them. I might not be the target customer, I can't even see myself using a real world assistant.

zyxley 11y ago
> I hate talking to a thing and it makes me look ridiculous both in public and in private (the social awkwardness might improve though in time, humans can get used to anything). The answer to this in scifi is a subvocal microphone. Unfortunately, the real-world equivalents [1] haven't progressed beyond the experimental stages yet. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition
- dsjoerg 11y ago
  Holy crikes that is cool!
- tedmiston 11y ago
  Also, brain-consumer interfaces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain%E2%80%93computer_interfaces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain%E...
  - PhasmaFelis 11y ago
    "Brain-consumer interface" is pretty great even if it was a typo.
    - tedmiston 11y ago
      Whoops! I'm glad you figured out my intent. I think my subconscious was marveling over the surprising number of brain-computer consumer products on that page. O_o
- digi_owl 11y ago
  There is always the option of a throat microphone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone
  - zyxley 11y ago
    With those you still have to talk at more-or-less normal volume, it just eliminates outside interference and noise.
hammock 11y ago
The newest Moto software has a feature where you can hold the phone to your ear and speak to it that way, and it will speak back to you in your ear (as opposed to loudly on speaker). To bystanders it just looks like you're talking to someone on the phone.
puranjay 11y ago
> 2) I hate talking to a thing and it makes me look ridiculous both in public and in private (the social awkwardness might improve though in time, humans can get used to anything :) ). You do. I do too. But trust me, the next generation wont. Speaking in front of a microphone, being recorded, or uploading videos for public consumption is completely natural for the 'Generation Smartphone'

by rloc 11y ago

zyxley 11y ago

> I hate talking to a thing and it makes me look ridiculous both in public and in private (the social awkwardness might improve though in time, humans can get used to anything). The answer to this in scifi is a subvocal microphone. Unfortunately, the real-world equivalents [1] haven't progressed beyond the experimental stages yet. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subvocal_recognition

dsjoerg 11y ago
Holy crikes that is cool!
tedmiston 11y ago
Also, brain-consumer interfaces. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain%E2%80%93computer_interfaces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_consumer_brain%E...
- PhasmaFelis 11y ago
  "Brain-consumer interface" is pretty great even if it was a typo.
  - tedmiston 11y ago
    Whoops! I'm glad you figured out my intent. I think my subconscious was marveling over the surprising number of brain-computer consumer products on that page. O_o
digi_owl 11y ago
There is always the option of a throat microphone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Throat_microphone
- zyxley 11y ago
  With those you still have to talk at more-or-less normal volume, it just eliminates outside interference and noise.

hammock 11y ago

The newest Moto software has a feature where you can hold the phone to your ear and speak to it that way, and it will speak back to you in your ear (as opposed to loudly on speaker). To bystanders it just looks like you're talking to someone on the phone.

puranjay 11y ago

> 2) I hate talking to a thing and it makes me look ridiculous both in public and in private (the social awkwardness might improve though in time, humans can get used to anything :) ). You do. I do too. But trust me, the next generation wont. Speaking in front of a microphone, being recorded, or uploading videos for public consumption is completely natural for the 'Generation Smartphone'