Who'll remember the lame chit-chat you had with Alexa? Not me.Īlexa won't sit in the park with me on a nice summer day. When you're on your death bed, you'll remember the conversations you had with those closest to you. Though they can't speak back in human language, they still emote with facial expressions and body language. They'll leave you feeling just as empty as before your phony conversation started.Įven talking to a dog or cat is more valuable than a digital assistant. ![]() ![]() They just can't because at the end of the day, they're pre-programmed to say and respond to a set of commands.Įven if machine learning helps expand that, the vessels used to deliver digital assistants - an Echo, HomePod, smartphone, or whatever - are still machines incapable of true emotions. No matter how smart digital assistants get, they can never replace real exchanges between friends and family. For that, nothing will ever be as good as social interactions with humans. A conversation with Alexa might be a short-term cure for loneliness, but it won't dig you out of your darkness over time. It makes you realize that despite technology making life more convenient, it's also made us all much more lonely. Their conversation continues with an increasingly depressed Dom asking it "Are we friends?" This continues for a few more questions with her asking Alexa's favorite color, the color of its eyes, and whether or not it loves her. "Because I wasn't asking a question you dumb bitch," retorts Dom.Īlexa has no answer to this. "Sorry, I didn't understand the question you were asking," Alexa replies. "Alexa, wake me up at um.," Dom tells Alexa. You can see an illustrated reenactment of the entire scene below: As she skulks under her sheets talking to what is essentially a robot, she realizes she has no friends and no relationships. Robot where FBI agent Dominique DiPierro lays in bed talking to Alexa. If you ask it one thing, and then another, it understands that they're probably related.īut this whole "digital assistants being our friends" reminded reminded of that one episode of Mr. The Google Assistant is the best digital assistant there is because it understands context. ![]() I also live alone - no roommates and no pets (not even a fish) - and I admit it does get lonely sometimes, but I still never feel the urge to chitchat with Alexa.Īs digital assistants get smarter, it's natural some people might want to converse with them for more than just the occasional "what's the weather?" and "who's leading the Eastern Conference playoffs in the NBA?" ![]() Not once have I wanted to have a more engaging conversation with it. I was one of the first ever to use an Echo with Alexa voice controls and I've been using it daily for over three years. One Alexa user they spoke to said it'd depend on the technology, specifically on the accuracy of Alexa's ability to hear your words.īut I'm not convinced anyone really does want this. KDKA, a CBS Pittsburgh local news division, which interviewed the Tartan team, posed a good question: Do Alexa users even want to have conversations with it? Most queries with Alexa (or any digital assistant such as Siri or Google Assistant) last seconds, not the span of a Seinfeld episode. The specific goal is to make Alexa hold a conversation for 20 minutes, which - if you stop and think about it - is a very long time to be talking with a digital assistant. These teams are to "create socialbots that can converse coherently and engagingly with humans on a range of current events and popular topics such as entertainment, sports, politics, technology, and fashion." The 11-member Team Tartan is one of eight from around the world who have been awarded $250,000 to compete in the Alexa Prize Challenge. This rant is inspired by a Carnegie Mellon University project in which a team of students is trying to make Alexa more chatty.
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