The star trek angle seems more prevalent than one would imagine. In my experience, every single time this topic comes up, people mention the star trek computer,

The star trek angle seems more prevalent than one would imagine. In my experience, every single time this topic comes up, people mention the star trek computer, sometimes kitt from knight rider, or that ai from iron man. However, people seem to forget these aren't computers, but characters in TV shows or movies and they were "designed" with voice interaction because that's the only way to convey what they are doing to an audience. The entire voice control fantasy comes from limitations of the TV (or film) medium and not at all because it's the most convenient way to do something. It's not too different from the way hacking or programming is portrayed on TV: it's extremely silly but you need a way to visually explain something to an audience of people who aren't technical. It's entertainment. While I admit there is a case for disabled people, as stated here in the comments, trying to imitate these things from sci fi shows just feels awkward to me.