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Agreed. And I have a small child. I _really_ don't want them to be forming "relationships" with brands by asking robot assistants named after corporations to do

by xd1936 6y ago

Agreed. And I have a small child. I _really_ don't want them to be forming "relationships" with brands by asking robot assistants named after corporations to do stuff.

malandrew 6y ago
You can also think of it as a robot assistant that is named after a number. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numbers#Named_numbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numbers#Named_numbers
- pinewurst 6y ago
  No, we're their numbers...
- medium_burrito 6y ago
  Like that makes it any better. "I am not a number I am a free man!"
  - tclancy 6y ago
    You are Number Six.
crtasm 6y ago
Not that I want any part in increasing use of always-listening devices, but can't you change the trigger word on these things? I've been meaning to have a play with https://mycroft.ai/ https://mycroft.ai/ but only out of interest, I don't see myself leaving it running.
- hrktb 6y ago
  For Google devices you can’t change the trigger. Now you can mispronounce it, that’s the only leeway we get.
  - naravara 6y ago
    > Now you can mispronounce it, that’s the only leeway we get. Not a bad option. I would much prefer asking 19th century Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, to turn on the lights.
spoonjim 6y ago
We have kids too. We use "Computer" which is one of the wake words offered by Amazon because we don't want our kids to get used to the idea of bossing around a person. Also, I've mapped all of the functions we use to "recipes" that include the word "please" so that they don't work unless you use the word "please." i.e. the upstairs lights are named as for example "the Chicago lights" and there is a recipe that says "turn on the Chicago lights" when someone utters "Computer, please turn on the upstairs lights." So if you say "Computer, turn on the upstairs lights" it says "I don't know what upstairs lights are." The disadvantage of this approach is that you need to get the string exactly as stored.
- hanoz 6y ago
  "OK Computer, play some cheery music please" "#Karma.. Police.. Arrest this man, he talks in maths...#"
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    "That is something I cannot allow to happen."
skaber 6y ago
I think you can trigger Google assistant by using "OK Boo Boo". It works on the Google Home and on my Android phone, and is actually easier for toddlers.
- methodin 6y ago
  This is a great tip. `Hey Boo Boo` is much easier to say too.
  - Igelau 6y ago
    Seems like we're spending an awful lot on picnic basket deliveries...
- kelnos 6y ago
  If you say it with the right cadence, "cocaine poodle" can trigger it too.
enobrev 6y ago
This is what has led us to stop using our assistants around the house. I have 4 of those little google pucks around the house that we used for various tasks and automations. Now that we have a 1-year-old we almost never use them because I don't want him learning the phrase "ok google". It sounded dumb enough for two adults to say it all day, but the convenience was worth it. Having my little one start using the phrase to talk to things is definitely where I draw the line. Besides, now that it tries to make suggestions after every other command all you really hear in my house in regards to them is "hey google shut the fuck up and do what you're told". Unfortunately the stupid puck doesn't allow you to interrupt the unsolicited FAQ any longer. Come to think of it, I think I'm getting rid of most of these things this weekend.
- tyingq 6y ago
  That's interesting. The Amazon devices can be configured with a wake word of "Alexa", "Amazon", "Echo" or "Computer". I see Google offers no way to not say "Google".
- Talanes 6y ago
  My Alexa really needs a way to whitelist commands. I bought it to be a wireless clapper and fancy alarm clock. If it thinks I'm asking it anything outside of those two domains, I am not. Of course Amazon isn't likely to ever do such a thing, because god forbid we don't have the ability to suddenly order something from Amazon on every device at all times.
  - curryst 6y ago
    > Of course Amazon isn't likely to ever do such a thing, because god forbid we don't have the ability to suddenly order something from Amazon on every device at all times. Comically, that's actually one of the things its the worst at. I tried to do it exactly once and swore I would never do it again. In the time it takes to read the first search result, I could have found and ordered what I want from my phone. If that's what they were going for, I can't believe they didn't scrap the project. Supposedly they're fairly good at re-ordering, but given how often Alexa mis-hears me, I'm not a fan of doing anything involving money on it.
dimitrios1 6y ago
Most likely, everyone you know, especially outside of tech, when referencing a search engine, says to "google it". There are, unfortunately, millions of ways we form relationships with brands. A brand's reason for existing is to live somewhere in our psyche either subconsciously or consciously. We say "Q-tip" instead of cotton swab, "band-aid" instead of bandage, "Advil" when we need ibuprofen, or "Tylenol" when we want acetaminophen. When we see white polar bears around Christmas time, we think of Coca-Cola, and so on and so forth. All that to say, kudos for you for taking a principled approach, but I am not sure it's going to achieve much.

by xd1936 6y ago

Agreed. And I have a small child. I _really_ don't want them to be forming "relationships" with brands by asking robot assistants named after corporations to do stuff.

malandrew 6y ago

You can also think of it as a robot assistant that is named after a number. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numbers#Named_numbers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_numbers#Named_numbers

pinewurst 6y ago
No, we're their numbers...
medium_burrito 6y ago
Like that makes it any better. "I am not a number I am a free man!"
- tclancy 6y ago
  You are Number Six.

crtasm 6y ago

Not that I want any part in increasing use of always-listening devices, but can't you change the trigger word on these things? I've been meaning to have a play with https://mycroft.ai/ https://mycroft.ai/ but only out of interest, I don't see myself leaving it running.

hrktb 6y ago
For Google devices you can’t change the trigger. Now you can mispronounce it, that’s the only leeway we get.
- naravara 6y ago
  > Now you can mispronounce it, that’s the only leeway we get. Not a bad option. I would much prefer asking 19th century Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, to turn on the lights.

spoonjim 6y ago

We have kids too. We use "Computer" which is one of the wake words offered by Amazon because we don't want our kids to get used to the idea of bossing around a person. Also, I've mapped all of the functions we use to "recipes" that include the word "please" so that they don't work unless you use the word "please." i.e. the upstairs lights are named as for example "the Chicago lights" and there is a recipe that says "turn on the Chicago lights" when someone utters "Computer, please turn on the upstairs lights." So if you say "Computer, turn on the upstairs lights" it says "I don't know what upstairs lights are." The disadvantage of this approach is that you need to get the string exactly as stored.

hanoz 6y ago
"OK Computer, play some cheery music please" "#Karma.. Police.. Arrest this man, he talks in maths...#"
- WalterBright 6y ago
  "That is something I cannot allow to happen."

skaber 6y ago

I think you can trigger Google assistant by using "OK Boo Boo". It works on the Google Home and on my Android phone, and is actually easier for toddlers.

methodin 6y ago
This is a great tip. `Hey Boo Boo` is much easier to say too.
- Igelau 6y ago
  Seems like we're spending an awful lot on picnic basket deliveries...
kelnos 6y ago
If you say it with the right cadence, "cocaine poodle" can trigger it too.

enobrev 6y ago

This is what has led us to stop using our assistants around the house. I have 4 of those little google pucks around the house that we used for various tasks and automations. Now that we have a 1-year-old we almost never use them because I don't want him learning the phrase "ok google". It sounded dumb enough for two adults to say it all day, but the convenience was worth it. Having my little one start using the phrase to talk to things is definitely where I draw the line. Besides, now that it tries to make suggestions after every other command all you really hear in my house in regards to them is "hey google shut the fuck up and do what you're told". Unfortunately the stupid puck doesn't allow you to interrupt the unsolicited FAQ any longer. Come to think of it, I think I'm getting rid of most of these things this weekend.

tyingq 6y ago
That's interesting. The Amazon devices can be configured with a wake word of "Alexa", "Amazon", "Echo" or "Computer". I see Google offers no way to not say "Google".
Talanes 6y ago
My Alexa really needs a way to whitelist commands. I bought it to be a wireless clapper and fancy alarm clock. If it thinks I'm asking it anything outside of those two domains, I am not. Of course Amazon isn't likely to ever do such a thing, because god forbid we don't have the ability to suddenly order something from Amazon on every device at all times.
- curryst 6y ago
  > Of course Amazon isn't likely to ever do such a thing, because god forbid we don't have the ability to suddenly order something from Amazon on every device at all times. Comically, that's actually one of the things its the worst at. I tried to do it exactly once and swore I would never do it again. In the time it takes to read the first search result, I could have found and ordered what I want from my phone. If that's what they were going for, I can't believe they didn't scrap the project. Supposedly they're fairly good at re-ordering, but given how often Alexa mis-hears me, I'm not a fan of doing anything involving money on it.

dimitrios1 6y ago

Most likely, everyone you know, especially outside of tech, when referencing a search engine, says to "google it". There are, unfortunately, millions of ways we form relationships with brands. A brand's reason for existing is to live somewhere in our psyche either subconsciously or consciously. We say "Q-tip" instead of cotton swab, "band-aid" instead of bandage, "Advil" when we need ibuprofen, or "Tylenol" when we want acetaminophen. When we see white polar bears around Christmas time, we think of Coca-Cola, and so on and so forth. All that to say, kudos for you for taking a principled approach, but I am not sure it's going to achieve much.