AI and voice assistants: how skepticism toward the technologies can be overcome
Think about voice assistants yesterday and today: how did they become part of our lives? We explain why this could also happen to all AI systems.
AI and voice assistants: how skepticism toward the technologies can be overcome
Think about voice assistants yesterday and today: how did they become part of our lives? We explain why this could also happen to all AI systems.
Think about voice assistants yesterday and today: how did they become part of our lives? We explain why this could also happen to all AI systems.
AI and voice assistants: what are they?
We have been talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) for years. Now this term has even entered common parlance, although people confuse it with robotics or augmented reality.
What really is Artificial Intelligence?
AI refers to the ability of a technological system to solve problems using the same logic as the human mind. It is therefore capable of performing similar tasks as we do. Consequently, we infer its great usefulness: it can indeed act as a support in activities for people.
Despite this and especially in recent years with the arrival of AI tools such as Chat GPT, Google Bard, and Midjourney, around this term, there is a heated debate. Indeed, very often there is talk about the risks associated with the use of these software. This can be related to how technology in general has been shown in movies or TV series, where a gloomy future is outlined because of these systems. Therefore, when discussing these new tools, more emphasis is placed on the cons, for example to the possibility that they may replace humans in specific jobs.Can Artificial Intelligence really be a threat to us?
Actually, today AI is already part of everyone’s everyday life because of the added value it brings. There are applications and systems that are ingrained in daily life. One among them is precisely that of voice assistants.
They are Artificial Intelligence-based systems that interact with users based on voice commands.
In detail, at first, voice assistants recognize the words spoken by the user using speech recognition technologies. Then, they use machine learning and natural language processing to understand and respond to user requests.
A voice assistant is activated when spoken aloud and can provide answers or execute commands through voice. Voice assistants can also become real personal secretaries, reading emails or articles and setting alarm clocks.
In addition to all these features, they are provided with a distinct irony, just like human beings. Considering their goal of entertaining people, in fact they can also tell jokes, a story and much more.
Such Artificial Intelligence systems are for all intents and purposes a great help in daily life and can simplify the existence of those who use them.
Have voice assistants always been essential for people?
When they were released, conversations with voice assistants were still quite poor.
A 2017 Adobe study provided important data on how many people were using voice assistants and how much they were valued.
37 percent of people surveyed described interactions with voice assistants as “not good” or “terrible“. The same percentage of people rated voice assistants positively and the rest described them as “okay.”
These very low figures can be traced back to Apple’s Siri. According to the study, in fact, out of billions of mentions on social media there were few positive comments for Siri among all available voice assistants. [1]
The results of this survey surely could have marked the beginning of a catastrophe for the company and the voice assistant market. Instead, we in the future know what really has happened.
In recent years, everything has definitely changed for the better. Voice assistants on phones began to take hold at the same time that neural networks began to be used. Voice recognition on Siri has dramatically improved and many other voice assistants have been developed.
Now the world has changed.
Voice assistants are also used daily in the home. These tools are so popular and loved because they are there to be useful.
Such devices are able to interface with other smart electronic systems, for example, televisions, lamps and so on. So it is possible to manage the devices built into a smart home without the need to touch them manually.
Asking about the weather while baking a cake has never been so convenient and simple!
People are not just using these tools. Right now people need them because they can perform actions in their place while they are engaged in other activities.
Not only at home, people tend to use the voice assistants embedded in smartphones everywhere, on the street or on the subway. Thanks to the latest technologies, these are highly performant and allow people to act indirectly.
Voice assistants are part of everyday life: will it be for AI as well?
By now, voice assistants are everywhere, from PCs to corporate websites. Everyone uses them for one purpose: to improve everyday life. Does this mean they will become even more essential to people?
As innovation advances, they will not only try to fully meet everyday needs, but will be able to fulfill far more complex and more important tasks.
At this moment in history, technology is facilitating and speeding up everyday times and practices. The number of people using conversational Artificial Intelligence tools, such as voice assistants, is growing.
According to eMarketer, in 2022, 123.5 million U.S. adults used voice assistants and that base will continue to increase in the coming years. Moreover, 75 percent of people in the country use voice search to find out details about the weather. In contrast, 71 percent of them use it to search for music. [2]
Will this also be the case for all other applications equipped with AI?
We talked earlier about generative artificial intelligence, another example is smart devices in smart cities that detect and monitor public security and mobility.
Currently these technologies are still surrounded by skepticism. Many people perceive it as a danger to their privacy because they feel they are constantly being monitored without how all the data and videos collected are used.
What is the truth?
Artificial Intelligence is already well established in so many different areas today, and skepticism has a lot to do with a misperception of the term. People think in a negative way, because their real benefits are not known. People are not being educated about the healthy use of these technologies.
In general, there is more focus on their ability to perform actions that we are also capable of doing or to supervise us to have control over us. In reality, AI systems can allow us to perform more actions simultaneously and in a better way or enable more effective public safety.
The voice assistant is, in fact, an AI tool. Over time and with its improvements, we have learned to use it. Paradoxically, we would now find it difficult to live without it.
Surely with a teaching of what AI is, how it works and acts, it will be more accepted and implemented in all matters of a city and everyday life.
As the voice assistant has become important, AI in its various applications will also prove its strength and usefulness in the lives of all of us.
We must start now with proper AI education for its informed use.
References:
-
-
- Adobe. Online version: https://blog.adobe.com/en/topics/cmo-by-adobe#gs.BzgE_mc
- Emarketer. Online version: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/
-
© Copyright 2012 – 2023 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Giovanni Trovini, Chief Technology Officer
Think about voice assistants yesterday and today: how did they become part of our lives? We explain why this could also happen to all AI systems.
AI and voice assistants: what are they?
We have been talking about Artificial Intelligence (AI) for years. Now this term has even entered common parlance, although people confuse it with robotics or augmented reality.
What really is Artificial Intelligence?
AI refers to the ability of a technological system to solve problems using the same logic as the human mind. It is therefore capable of performing similar tasks as we do. Consequently, we infer its great usefulness: it can indeed act as a support in activities for people.
Despite this and especially in recent years with the arrival of AI tools such as Chat GPT, Google Bard, and Midjourney, around this term, there is a heated debate. Indeed, very often there is talk about the risks associated with the use of these software. This can be related to how technology in general has been shown in movies or TV series, where a gloomy future is outlined because of these systems. Therefore, when discussing these new tools, more emphasis is placed on the cons, for example to the possibility that they may replace humans in specific jobs.Can Artificial Intelligence really be a threat to us?
Actually, today AI is already part of everyone’s everyday life because of the added value it brings. There are applications and systems that are ingrained in daily life. One among them is precisely that of voice assistants.
They are Artificial Intelligence-based systems that interact with users based on voice commands.
In detail, at first, voice assistants recognize the words spoken by the user using speech recognition technologies. Then, they use machine learning and natural language processing to understand and respond to user requests.
A voice assistant is activated when spoken aloud and can provide answers or execute commands through voice. Voice assistants can also become real personal secretaries, reading emails or articles and setting alarm clocks.
In addition to all these features, they are provided with a distinct irony, just like human beings. Considering their goal of entertaining people, in fact they can also tell jokes, a story and much more.
Such Artificial Intelligence systems are for all intents and purposes a great help in daily life and can simplify the existence of those who use them.
Have voice assistants always been essential for people?
When they were released, conversations with voice assistants were still quite poor.
A 2017 Adobe study provided important data on how many people were using voice assistants and how much they were valued.
37 percent of people surveyed described interactions with voice assistants as “not good” or “terrible“. The same percentage of people rated voice assistants positively and the rest described them as “okay.”
These very low figures can be traced back to Apple’s Siri. According to the study, in fact, out of billions of mentions on social media there were few positive comments for Siri among all available voice assistants. [1]
The results of this survey surely could have marked the beginning of a catastrophe for the company and the voice assistant market. Instead, we in the future know what really has happened.
In recent years, everything has definitely changed for the better. Voice assistants on phones began to take hold at the same time that neural networks began to be used. Voice recognition on Siri has dramatically improved and many other voice assistants have been developed.
Now the world has changed.
Voice assistants are also used daily in the home. These tools are so popular and loved because they are there to be useful.
Such devices are able to interface with other smart electronic systems, for example, televisions, lamps and so on. So it is possible to manage the devices built into a smart home without the need to touch them manually.
Asking about the weather while baking a cake has never been so convenient and simple!
People are not just using these tools. Right now people need them because they can perform actions in their place while they are engaged in other activities.
Not only at home, people tend to use the voice assistants embedded in smartphones everywhere, on the street or on the subway. Thanks to the latest technologies, these are highly performant and allow people to act indirectly.
Voice assistants are part of everyday life: will it be for AI as well?
By now, voice assistants are everywhere, from PCs to corporate websites. Everyone uses them for one purpose: to improve everyday life. Does this mean they will become even more essential to people?
As innovation advances, they will not only try to fully meet everyday needs, but will be able to fulfill far more complex and more important tasks.
At this moment in history, technology is facilitating and speeding up everyday times and practices. The number of people using conversational Artificial Intelligence tools, such as voice assistants, is growing.
According to eMarketer, in 2022, 123.5 million U.S. adults used voice assistants and that base will continue to increase in the coming years. Moreover, 75 percent of people in the country use voice search to find out details about the weather. In contrast, 71 percent of them use it to search for music. [2]
Will this also be the case for all other applications equipped with AI?
We talked earlier about generative artificial intelligence, another example is smart devices in smart cities that detect and monitor public security and mobility.
Currently these technologies are still surrounded by skepticism. Many people perceive it as a danger to their privacy because they feel they are constantly being monitored without how all the data and videos collected are used.
What is the truth?
Artificial Intelligence is already well established in so many different areas today, and skepticism has a lot to do with a misperception of the term. People think in a negative way, because their real benefits are not known. People are not being educated about the healthy use of these technologies.
In general, there is more focus on their ability to perform actions that we are also capable of doing or to supervise us to have control over us. In reality, AI systems can allow us to perform more actions simultaneously and in a better way or enable more effective public safety.
The voice assistant is, in fact, an AI tool. Over time and with its improvements, we have learned to use it. Paradoxically, we would now find it difficult to live without it.
Surely with a teaching of what AI is, how it works and acts, it will be more accepted and implemented in all matters of a city and everyday life.
As the voice assistant has become important, AI in its various applications will also prove its strength and usefulness in the lives of all of us.
We must start now with proper AI education for its informed use.
References:
-
-
- Adobe. Online version: https://blog.adobe.com/en/topics/cmo-by-adobe#gs.BzgE_mc
- Emarketer. Online version: https://www.insiderintelligence.com/
-
© Copyright 2012 – 2023 | All Rights Reserved
Author: Giovanni Trovini, Chief Technology Officer