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I've never quite gotten the allure of voice assistants myself, it just seems like a really frustrating way to use a computer.

by Aloha 7y ago

ben_w 7y ago
I use it sometimes. For household use I pretty much agree: my partner has Alexa set up to turn lights on and off, and it only works about 70% of the time. Apple doesn’t, I think, say it’s Siri which is running this keyboard which I am using right now to “write” this content, but I assume the voice recognition engine is the same one, and it’s significantly more useful than Alexa. For example the only edits I have made while dictating this have been where I change my mind about what I wanted to write, not any transcription errors. It is certainly much more useful, when I wish to take notes, than the on-screen keyboard.
- Operyl 7y ago
  I agree, and then that technology is put to use on the pretty well put together accessibility tech showing up in iOS 13: https://youtu.be/aqoXFCCTfm4 https://youtu.be/aqoXFCCTfm4
- sorokod 7y ago
  "my partner has Alexa set up to turn lights on and off" Do you really need the help of a megacorp to turn lights on and off?
  - ben_w 7y ago
    No, but it does feel very Star Trek.
    - sorokod 7y ago
      Yea, with star fleet analysts keeping tabs on crews.
      - ben_w 7y ago
        Lots of episodes would’ve been much shorter and more boring if they had 2014 technology. How many times did someone disappear from the ship without anyone noticing? Or that time one of the Marquis on Voyager literally murdered another crew member? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that fictional scenarios are a terrible justification for anything in real life, but it can still be a lot of fun to use the technology described in those scenarios.
  - bredren 7y ago
    Smart light systems are really good. You can be in bed and say “goodnight” and all of your lights turn off. It is convenient. Schedules are also helpful. I use them on grow bulbs for plants.
    - chronogram 7y ago
      I'd sooner use a car for grocery shopping (10 minute walk) than retrofit my bedroom so I don't have to take another step. However! It is exceptionally useful for people who are injured, sick, or disabled in some other way.
    - sorokod 7y ago
      > You can be in bed and say “goodnight” and all of your lights turn off Well that is qute, but the flip side is that FANGs and gods know who else may be listening in. > Schedules are also helpful. I use them on grow bulbs for plants. Timers for turning appliances on and off have been around for decades.
mrweasel 7y ago
As someone who doesn’t use any digital assistants, voice activated or not, I’m facinated by the marketing and media hype. It’s still not clear to me why anyone would want them.
- jtbayly 7y ago
  (Safely) Creating a reminder while driving is very handy.
  - mrweasel 7y ago
    I don’t think you should be doing that while driving. The one argument that I do see is while cooking and your hands are covered in flour or something. That’s just a really niche usecase.
    - jtbayly 7y ago
      People shouldn't talk while driving? Yikes. I mean, I know it affects concentration and I suppose that means it probably increases accidents at some level, but speaking a thought out loud when you remember you need to do something seems pretty innocuous to me.
  - NikkiA 7y ago
    Voice memos were a thing before we had voice assistants. Hell in the 15-20 years before that we even had plenty of automatic voice-memo systems that could be activated with a simple command.
robdachshund 7y ago
Seems like a great way to have zero privacy whatsoever for something that adds very little convenience to your life, if it even works correctly. The whole thing just grosses me out. It's sad that the big companies are pushing this as their newest "innovation".
Kye 7y ago
It's great with my sometimes inadequate working memory. "Hey Siri, ..." is faster and more reliable than trying to get into an app and do a thing before I forget what I was trying to do.
tmm84 7y ago
I know several people who use voice assistants because of visual impairments. Touching, swiping and tapping is several times more harder with a visual impairment.

I've never quite gotten the allure of voice assistants myself, it just seems like a really frustrating way to use a computer.

by Aloha 7y ago

I've never quite gotten the allure of voice assistants myself, it just seems like a really frustrating way to use a computer.

ben_w 7y ago

I use it sometimes. For household use I pretty much agree: my partner has Alexa set up to turn lights on and off, and it only works about 70% of the time. Apple doesn’t, I think, say it’s Siri which is running this keyboard which I am using right now to “write” this content, but I assume the voice recognition engine is the same one, and it’s significantly more useful than Alexa. For example the only edits I have made while dictating this have been where I change my mind about what I wanted to write, not any transcription errors. It is certainly much more useful, when I wish to take notes, than the on-screen keyboard.

Operyl 7y ago
I agree, and then that technology is put to use on the pretty well put together accessibility tech showing up in iOS 13: https://youtu.be/aqoXFCCTfm4 https://youtu.be/aqoXFCCTfm4
sorokod 7y ago
"my partner has Alexa set up to turn lights on and off" Do you really need the help of a megacorp to turn lights on and off?
- ben_w 7y ago
  No, but it does feel very Star Trek.
  - sorokod 7y ago
    Yea, with star fleet analysts keeping tabs on crews.
    - ben_w 7y ago
      Lots of episodes would’ve been much shorter and more boring if they had 2014 technology. How many times did someone disappear from the ship without anyone noticing? Or that time one of the Marquis on Voyager literally murdered another crew member? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate that fictional scenarios are a terrible justification for anything in real life, but it can still be a lot of fun to use the technology described in those scenarios.
- bredren 7y ago
  Smart light systems are really good. You can be in bed and say “goodnight” and all of your lights turn off. It is convenient. Schedules are also helpful. I use them on grow bulbs for plants.
  - chronogram 7y ago
    I'd sooner use a car for grocery shopping (10 minute walk) than retrofit my bedroom so I don't have to take another step. However! It is exceptionally useful for people who are injured, sick, or disabled in some other way.
  - sorokod 7y ago
    > You can be in bed and say “goodnight” and all of your lights turn off Well that is qute, but the flip side is that FANGs and gods know who else may be listening in. > Schedules are also helpful. I use them on grow bulbs for plants. Timers for turning appliances on and off have been around for decades.

mrweasel 7y ago

As someone who doesn’t use any digital assistants, voice activated or not, I’m facinated by the marketing and media hype. It’s still not clear to me why anyone would want them.

jtbayly 7y ago
(Safely) Creating a reminder while driving is very handy.
- mrweasel 7y ago
  I don’t think you should be doing that while driving. The one argument that I do see is while cooking and your hands are covered in flour or something. That’s just a really niche usecase.
  - jtbayly 7y ago
    People shouldn't talk while driving? Yikes. I mean, I know it affects concentration and I suppose that means it probably increases accidents at some level, but speaking a thought out loud when you remember you need to do something seems pretty innocuous to me.
- NikkiA 7y ago
  Voice memos were a thing before we had voice assistants. Hell in the 15-20 years before that we even had plenty of automatic voice-memo systems that could be activated with a simple command.

robdachshund 7y ago

Seems like a great way to have zero privacy whatsoever for something that adds very little convenience to your life, if it even works correctly. The whole thing just grosses me out. It's sad that the big companies are pushing this as their newest "innovation".

Kye 7y ago

It's great with my sometimes inadequate working memory. "Hey Siri, ..." is faster and more reliable than trying to get into an app and do a thing before I forget what I was trying to do.

tmm84 7y ago

I know several people who use voice assistants because of visual impairments. Touching, swiping and tapping is several times more harder with a visual impairment.