Smart Assistant & Smart Speaker thread - "Google Assistant just beat the Turing test"

NickSCFC · Last edited by NickSCFC on Wed May 09, 2018 6:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

These things seem to really be taking off.

Which do you use and what do you think of them?

PostRe: Smart Assistants and speakers by **Preezy** » Tue May 01, 2018 3:04 pm

I have a Google Home Mini in my lounge.

I use it to play songs every now and then, and that's it. It's neat but it's purely novelty-based, so it's normally forgotten about.

NickSCFC

Preezy wrote:I have a Google Home Mini in my lounge.

I use it to play songs every now and then, and that's it. It's neat but it's purely novelty-based, so it's normally forgotten about.

We've got a couple of Google Home Minis and I'm tempted to get the Sony one (below) for the lounge as the Google Home Max doesn't look like it's coming to the UK any time soon.

Really impressed with how Google Assistant can hold a conversation and understand human language, the rest seem to be move about handling scripted commands.

https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/29/son ... t-speaker/

None, I like my privacy. I don't trust any of those companies to listen to and potentially harvest everything I say (and believe that they do, even when you haven't said the keyword).

The only genuinely beneficial functionality I've seen from voice controls is being able to much more easily set alarms and timers. That's something I rarely do so the privacy sacrifice really isn't worth it.

Confined to a car I can see how voice controls can be very helpful, allowing you to control a satnav and make phone calls, but I don't drive and automation is coming soon enough.

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers by **Rax** » Tue May 01, 2018 3:11 pm

I have no idea why anyone would want one, theyre basically an Orwellian nightmare.

None. I don't like the invasion of privacy.

YouTube

I've been using Google Assistant for a long time now, and it's been pretty useful to me. I've been using it while cooking to set timers and recite recipes, or for playing music in the shower.

Last edited by Vermilion on Tue May 01, 2018 3:15 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Seems like a pretty pointless novelty to me, they seem to need everything around them to be linked up to a wifi network, and to be honest, i just don't feel comfortable with that.

NickSCFC

https://www.slashgear.com/google-assist ... -30529016/

Looks like I made the right choice with Google, never thought much of Cortana so surprised it came second.

Siri, predictably, performed poorly.

NickSCFC

Rax wrote:I have no idea why anyone would want one, theyre basically an Orwellian nightmare.

I did find it creepy when Google Maps asked me to review somewhere I'd only driven past.

Being able to get alerts before I start my journey to work negates that for me though.

I have Cortana on the One X but that bitch never hears what I say when I try it so it's completely useless for me and I turned her off.

satriales wrote:None. I don't like the invasion of privacy.

Also this.
Why would I pay to have a gadget constantly listen in to what I'm doing?

NickSCFC

Peter Crisp wrote:
satriales wrote:None. I don't like the invasion of privacy.

Also this.
Why would I pay to have a gadget constantly listen in to what I'm doing?

Unless you trigger it to listen by saying something like "Hey Google" it won't register anything you say.

PostRe: Smart Assistants and speakers by **Preezy** » Tue May 01, 2018 3:27 pm

OrangeRakoon wrote:None, I like my privacy. I don't trust any of those companies to listen to and potentially harvest everything I say (and believe that they do, even when you haven't said the keyword).

So I take it you don't talk into your phone then? That's basically a microphone connected to the internet 24/7.

I think Id get one if it came with a really high quality speaker. Probably Alexa.

NickSCFC

False wrote:I think Id get one if it came with a really high quality speaker. Probably Alexa.

Bang & Olufsen are launching speakers with Google Assistant this year

https://www.pocket-lint.com/headphones/ ... -this-year

They are kind of neat, and while I don't have a home assistant my phone is a Google Pixel which has the Google assistant. It is actually far more functional than I expected when I first got the thing - but I wouldn't bother with a home one for a few reasons:

- To get the most use out of it requires a lot of additional purchases, from smart mains switches to speakers in every room (i.e. to use the 'kill the lights' features) or even extra assistants around the house for when you're out of audible range of the primary one

- For all the practical uses I've had on my phone, it's not that useful anchored in the home. Especially when my phone is on me at all times anyway, so I can quickly use the assistant anywhere compared to just the room the home assistant would be in

- This will sound kind of stupid given that I have a Facebook account and a Google phone, but privacy. I actually do regret buying into Google's ecosystem as much as I have, and genuinely would consider switching to Apple if their promise about data privacy is legitimate as they claim. I also know that it would be trivially easy to detect if say, Alexa were listening all the time (a little program to monitor packets sent and received should do the trick) but that does make me a little nervous. Maybe getting a little conspiratorial but y'know

Honestly can't see the point in them.

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers by **Rax** » Tue May 01, 2018 3:37 pm

NickSCFC wrote:
Peter Crisp wrote:
satriales wrote:None. I don't like the invasion of privacy.

Also this.
Why would I pay to have a gadget constantly listen in to what I'm doing?

Unless you trigger it to listen by saying something like "Hey Google" it won't register anything you say.

Yes they do. They hear eveything in the room all the time, they just dont respond unless you use the keyword.

Rax wrote:
NickSCFC wrote:
Peter Crisp wrote:
satriales wrote:None. I don't like the invasion of privacy.

Also this.
Why would I pay to have a gadget constantly listen in to what I'm doing?

Unless you trigger it to listen by saying something like "Hey Google" it won't register anything you say.

Yes they do. They hear eveything in the room all the time, they just dont respond unless you use the keyword.

If they didn't how would they know when a keyword has been used.

Smart Assistant & Smart Speaker thread - "Google Assistant just beat the Turing test"

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