I have long held that I won’t be buying any kind of home AI assistant (e.g., Alexa and her ilk). I have some serious concerns about an always-on, always-listening device. However, that doesn’t mean that I haven’t secretly wished that I had one. Cool new technology plus amazing convenience? I absolutely question my feelings about privacy repeatedly, every time I watch one of these things in action. As artificial intelligence tech gets more sophisticated, my convictions get harder to hang on to. Not only that, but voice AI assistants are already joining the workplace–and I may not be able to avoid them in the very near future.
- Google declares war against Alexa and Siri at CES 2018 [Mashable] “My takeaway from the obvious trend was this: Digital assistants (powered by artificial intelligence) are going to be built into everything and platform agnostic. They’ll be the connective tissue that binds together your digital life across multiple rooms, appliances, and services.”
- AI voice assistants won’t just book your meetings, they’ll partake in them [SearchCIO] “But Sicular foresees a time in the not-so-distant future when voice AI assistants in the workplace — or ’employee assistants,’ as she referred to them — are not just booking meetings but are an active participant in those meetings.”
- Chatbots and voice assistants are gaining traction in the workplace [Business Insider] “The report, which included responses from 500 IT pros in organizations across North America and Europe, found that on average over 29% of organizations have either implemented one or more AI-powered chatbots or voice assistants for work-related tasks, or plan to do so in the year ahead.”
- The future of news is humans talking to machines [Nieman Lab] “Talking to machines, rather than typing on them, isn’t some temporary gimmick. Humans talking to machines — and eventually, machines talking to each other — represents the next major shift in our news information ecosystem. Voice is the next big threat for journalism.”
From the Ohio Web Library:
- Zoho CRM Introduces Zia Voice, the First Conversational AI for Sales Teams, Along With Catalyst, a Hyper-Customization Platform for Enterprises (Zoho. (2). Zoho CRM Introduces Zia Voice, the First Conversational AI for Sales Teams, Along With Catalyst, a Hyper-Customization Platform for Enterprises. Business Wire (English).)
- New Artificial Intelligence Podcast “Voices in AI” Now Available in iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play (PR, N. (2017, October 2). New Artificial Intelligence Podcast “Voices in AI” Now Available in iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. PR Newswire US.)
- The Real Reason Voice Assistants Are Female (and Why it Matters) (The Real Reason Voice Assistants Are Female (and Why it Matters). (2018). PC Magazine, 39-41.)
