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This article is placing so much emphasis on voice interfaces as the replacement for screens, but I can't imagine that happening for more than a handful of use c

This article is placing so much emphasis on voice interfaces as the replacement for screens, but I can't imagine that happening for more than a handful of use cases. Maybe I'm an outlier, but I would never use a voice assistant in public, and you can show a much higher depth of information on a screen. Screens are going to be around for a long time, with AR headsets being the logical next step. Google will have plenty of time to show me ads on screens in the future (if not directly in search, then via app stores and video ads). And even if their voice assistant just exists to direct me to their screen presence more, in my experience, google as a voice assistant has been 10x more reliable than either Alexa or Siri.

AstralStorm 9y ago
Subvocal interfaces could work, but it is a hard problem - both in AI as in the design of such an EMG necklace.
- nabla9 9y ago
  Existing throat microphone technology applied to whispering can be lower tech solution. Some tactical throat mics already have whispering capabilities.
  - melling 9y ago
    We have this same exact discussion when we talk about programming by voice. Can someone provide links to current microphones that are good at this?
afro88 9y ago
Case in point: radio didn't replace newspaper
aninhumer 9y ago
> would never use a voice assistant in public I would be so much more willing to use voice control systems if they ditched the stupid code phrases, and just used a push-to-talk button instead. Something about saying "Okay Google/Siri/Alexa" creeps me out way more than just talking to a computer. I already use voice search and say "timer 10 minutes" rather than navigate the awkward clock app, but I'd love to be able to just squeeze a reliable button on the side of my phone (or even smart watch) to do that instead of fiddly swiping. And PTT would also reassure me that the mic isn't listening in when I don't want it to, and help to minimise latency (which IME is a major impediment to using voice control) by providing immediate feedback when you're done speaking instead of having to wait for silence.
- ch0wn 9y ago
  If you have an Android phone with a Bluetooth headset you can do exactly that. By default you just need to long-press the play button on it. That said, I personally still very rarely use it that way.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

AstralStorm 9y ago

Subvocal interfaces could work, but it is a hard problem - both in AI as in the design of such an EMG necklace.

nabla9 9y ago
Existing throat microphone technology applied to whispering can be lower tech solution. Some tactical throat mics already have whispering capabilities.
- melling 9y ago
  We have this same exact discussion when we talk about programming by voice. Can someone provide links to current microphones that are good at this?

afro88 9y ago

Case in point: radio didn't replace newspaper

aninhumer 9y ago

> would never use a voice assistant in public I would be so much more willing to use voice control systems if they ditched the stupid code phrases, and just used a push-to-talk button instead. Something about saying "Okay Google/Siri/Alexa" creeps me out way more than just talking to a computer. I already use voice search and say "timer 10 minutes" rather than navigate the awkward clock app, but I'd love to be able to just squeeze a reliable button on the side of my phone (or even smart watch) to do that instead of fiddly swiping. And PTT would also reassure me that the mic isn't listening in when I don't want it to, and help to minimise latency (which IME is a major impediment to using voice control) by providing immediate feedback when you're done speaking instead of having to wait for silence.

ch0wn 9y ago
If you have an Android phone with a Bluetooth headset you can do exactly that. By default you just need to long-press the play button on it. That said, I personally still very rarely use it that way.
deleted 9y ago
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