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

Fed up talking videogames? Why?

Which assistants/speakers do you use?

Google Assistant (Google Home, Sony, Panasonic, Lenovo, Sonos)
11
39%
Alexa (Amazon Echo)
13
46%
Siri (Apple Homepod)
4
14%
Cortana (Microsoft)
0
No votes
Bixby (Samsung)
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 28
User avatar
Hypes
Member
Joined in 2009
Location: Beyond the wall

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Hypes » Wed May 02, 2018 3:41 pm

Where's the none option?
Don't really see the point of them as it's usually much more convenient and accurate to use a phone and your hands.
Best case use is in a car, where I've occasionally used Google assistant voice controls

User avatar
Preezy
Skeletor
Joined in 2009
Location: SES Hammer of Vigilance

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Preezy » Wed May 02, 2018 3:48 pm

I haven't tried it in my car, but I guess it could be useful:

"Ok Google, play sounds of woman orgasming until we reach the M27, then switch to screaming babies."

User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Moggy » Wed May 02, 2018 3:52 pm

Preezy wrote:I haven't tried it in my car, but I guess it could be useful:

"Ok Google, play sounds of woman orgasming until we reach the M27, then switch to screaming babies."


Whereas in real life I disappointed women and still ended up with the sounds of a screaming baby.

User avatar
Hypes
Member
Joined in 2009
Location: Beyond the wall

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Hypes » Wed May 02, 2018 3:55 pm

Preezy wrote:I haven't tried it in my car, but I guess it could be useful:

"Ok Google, play sounds of woman orgasming until we reach the M27, then switch to screaming babies."

That's either an extremely quick pregnancy, or terrible traffic

User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Moggy » Wed May 02, 2018 4:07 pm

Hyperion wrote:
Preezy wrote:I haven't tried it in my car, but I guess it could be useful:

"Ok Google, play sounds of woman orgasming until we reach the M27, then switch to screaming babies."

That's either an extremely quick pregnancy, or terrible traffic


His wife told me that the impregnation was extremely quick. And yes the traffic is terrible.

User avatar
Preezy
Skeletor
Joined in 2009
Location: SES Hammer of Vigilance

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Preezy » Wed May 02, 2018 4:10 pm

Let's just say I reach my destination very quickly :shifty:

User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Green Gecko » Wed May 02, 2018 4:11 pm

Moggy wrote:
Green Gecko wrote:I still don't really get this privacy aspect, or more specifically its wider context in use. Any device with a microphone connected to the Internet can listen to you. Which is all of them. Don't people realise that? All those devices should have privacy policies but apps like for example every android and iPhone and other devices have app permissions that access your microphone. Webpages can be given permission to access your microphone. Skype can access your microphone. Smart speakers listen to a key word locally on the device, then send voice to a server to be translated to text, this is encrypted, and you can delete it whenever you want, at least with Google. It's in the privacy policy. If you don't like that then fair game but what about all the other services?

Just read the privacy policy. Like I say anyone concerned about privacy probably shouldn't use the Internet because they are all hooked up to government back doors and collected vast swathes of information.

Is anyone aware Facebook can literally track your location across photos with an id number even if you aren't in Facebook? How? Because other people are uploading and tagging photos of you. Facebook know who your friends are because they have submitted your personally identifiable mobile number in their contact lists by using the Facebook app or signing into a smartphone with Facebook integration. Which is all of them.

We're way past true privacy I'm afraid.


Yes we know all of that. Thanks for asking. :simper:

That doesn’t mean people want to invite another invasion of privacy into their homes.

I don’t really care about that aspect of it but I can see why people do.

That's fine, just don't buy one. I already said its a very personal thing and I'm not interested in convincing anyone. I just think there is some misinformation, and randomly distributed privacy concern on this subject. People are hyper aware of privacy when it comes to a particular kind of product but willfully blind or misinformed about how many other things work that present very similar risks. It seems to come down to how useful a product is, and ultimately the same thing, do you want it or not, what value does it present in your life.

People who love Facebook don't give a gooseberry fool about its massive privacy invasion but might wax lyrical about Orwell about a device with speaker and microphone on it, where that is the principle feature, but a smart phone has exactly the same features. This to me is an area worth breaking down more objectively by understanding a product and what it actually does or is capable of doing compared to others that are already prolific.

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
Ironhide
Fiend
Joined in 2008
Location: Autobot City

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Ironhide » Wed May 02, 2018 10:44 pm

I just wonder how likely it is that the conversations these devices supposedly gather will ever actually be heard by human ears.

Image
User avatar
RichardUK
Purchased simply because it's an Apple product
Joined in 2015
Location: Nottinghamshire & Bavaria
Contact:

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by RichardUK » Thu May 03, 2018 1:38 am

I mainly only use Siri in the car and it’s useful for “navigate to” or “play song” etc

Image
'Put on a proper suit, do up your tie and sing the national anthem'
instagram - richardbatesuk
User avatar
Peter Crisp
Member
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Peter Crisp » Thu May 03, 2018 2:15 am

Green Gecko wrote:I still don't really get this privacy aspect, or more specifically its wider context in use. Any device with a microphone connected to the Internet can listen to you. Which is all of them. Don't people realise that? All those devices should have privacy policies but apps like for example every android and iPhone and other devices have app permissions that access your microphone. Webpages can be given permission to access your microphone. Skype can access your microphone. Smart speakers listen to a key word locally on the device, then send voice to a server to be translated to text, this is encrypted, and you can delete it whenever you want, at least with Google. It's in the privacy policy. If you don't like that then fair game but what about all the other services?

Just read the privacy policy. Like I say anyone concerned about privacy probably shouldn't use the Internet because they are all hooked up to government back doors and collected vast swathes of information.

Is anyone aware Facebook can literally track your location across photos with an id number even if you aren't in Facebook? How? Because other people are uploading and tagging photos of you. Facebook know who your friends are because they have submitted your personally identifiable mobile number in their contact lists by using the Facebook app or signing into a smartphone with Facebook integration. Which is all of them.

We're way past true privacy I'm afraid.


I don't own a mobile phone and pretty much never have photo's taken of me and I got rid of Facebook almost a decade ago after I got fed-up with strawberry floating Farmvile requests. I have a couple of consoles and a chromebook so I'm more secure than most I suppose.

Vermilion wrote:I'd rather live in Luton.
User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Moggy » Thu May 03, 2018 7:42 am

Ironhide wrote:I just wonder how likely it is that the conversations these devices supposedly gather will ever actually be heard by human ears.


We are all listening to you Ironhide. All of us. We listen all the time. ALL THE TIME.

:datass:

User avatar
OrangeRKN
Community Sec.
Joined in 2015
Location: Reading, UK
Contact:

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by OrangeRKN » Thu May 03, 2018 10:09 am

It's not just the privacy aspect from data companies are collecting and what they are using it for, it's also a security concern. Smart assistants/speakers are probably bucking the trend in being made by actual tech companies so hopefully having some reasonable security, but that's still no guarantee. In general "Internet of Things" devices are an absolute minefield of potential problems and targets for hackers.

Even if you're okay with the data that google or amazon are collecting from your smart speaker, you're still taking the potential risk of it being compromised by a third party.

Of course the same can be said for your laptop or your phone. My attitude is not to eliminate the risk by getting rid of everything, but to minimise the risk by only having what I really need. A smartphone is much more of a basic necessity than a smart speaker.

Image
Image
orkn.uk - Top 5 Games of 2023 - SW-6533-2461-3235
User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Green Gecko » Thu May 03, 2018 10:16 am

That's totally true. However a smartphone has much more functionality than I consider a necessity and so I think if for example ai assistants came before smartphones for some reason they would be more commonplace. I find it a useful thing to spend less time on the Internet and more time listening to radio or music or podcasts for example without being tethered to anything. Especially while working where it's way to easy to get sucked into the computer and also had your physical health. You inherently can't move around and do stuff. I find more natural. When I really think about it, keyboards and touch screens and all these ridiculous, hugely expensive and resource wasteful interfaces we've invented, I think "smart speakers" as were calling them come out of the woodwork more. Hopefully decent ai becomes more local and fabricated down in the future from grid computing so it doesn't need to be connected to the Internet all the time.

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
OrangeRKN
Community Sec.
Joined in 2015
Location: Reading, UK
Contact:

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by OrangeRKN » Thu May 03, 2018 10:25 am

Things that are necessary are going to vary from person to person. For me it's having portable access to messaging apps (signal, telegram, whatsapp) which I pretty much need a smartphone for.

Image
Image
orkn.uk - Top 5 Games of 2023 - SW-6533-2461-3235
User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Moggy » Thu May 03, 2018 10:33 am

Smartphones are not a necessity but they are damn useful. Instead of carrying around loads of devices we can now use one object to make phone calls, text/instant messaging, internet browsing, photos, music, podcasts, weather updates, news, social media, games and even a strawberry floating torch and compass.

Smart speakers? Other than for disabled people (as Ironhide mentioned), I can’t really see that they do much that I can’t just as easily do with a remote control or my smartphone.

That’s why people will accept or ignore the invasion of privacy from a smartphone but moan about it from the smartspeaker, the phone is useful.

User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Green Gecko » Thu May 03, 2018 10:38 am

I suffer from screen time greatly I think. It just gets me tense and blocks my mind up. Even my grandad said his head went funny if he spent too long in front of a "VDU". Partly because I suffer from Scorpio sensitivity, staring into a literal light is not good for my eyes. As for the posture part I've had to go to a chiropractor many times.

So yeah I think it's and interesting discussion about needs and interfaces too, like I was saying, often when we don't want something anyway we have reasons why that aren't necessarily universally true.

I feel kind of panicky and alarmed by just how much time is spent, when I want to be doing and making, and my messages get pretty strawberry floated over text anyway so I often just give up. So much scrolling!!

It's taken me ages to figure out things that are mentally healthy and things that detract from that and I feel that voice activated things are a real relief from that. I'd also prefer if they weren't online, but for now, it's a fair compromise if the policies are to be believed and your network is secure (it isn't).

I'm not sure I've spoken much about this but I have a real love hate relationship with Internet technology, just blessed with the skills and patience to deal with it. It's why I got into interface design and user experience and interaction design before. So much stuff is just so poorly implemented and clumsy to use it strawberry floats me off on a daily basis. Being able to say "add this gooseberry fool to my calendar" just undercuts all of that, it's pretty amazing.

I also suffer from short term memory loss. So in that very moment, seconds before I am going to forget that thing I need to do, I can tell the assistant to remind me or add it to my calendar. Literally 2 seconds later, bam it's in google calendar and synced to my laptop and tablet. If I go to a smartphone or computer, am I going to be back to what I was meant to be doing in the workshop 5 minutes later? Am I strawberry float. Because I also have sensory deficits and a tendency to get distracted.

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
Mafro
Moderator
Joined in 2008
AKA: based
Contact:

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Mafro » Thu May 03, 2018 11:05 am

I only use Siri for stuff like checking football scores, currency conversions, as a calculator etc. Not really bothered about smart speakers yet, would have probably got a HomePod if it worked properly with Spotify, but it doesn't.

Fisher wrote:shyguy64 did you sell weed in animal crossing new horizons today.

Twitter
User avatar
Preezy
Skeletor
Joined in 2009
Location: SES Hammer of Vigilance

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Preezy » Thu May 03, 2018 11:08 am

Green Gecko wrote:As for the posture part I've had to go to a chiropractor many times.

Go to an osteopath instead. Chiropractic is a pseudoscience and their sole purpose is to milk patients for money.

User avatar
Green Gecko
Treasurer
Joined in 2008

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Green Gecko » Thu May 03, 2018 11:23 am

I went to an osteopath as well, this was combined with vigorous massage tools, heat ointments/beeswax, and soft tissue manipulation just like an osteopath and probably cost the same or less than private osteopathy which I did in the NHS. Some of the mixed discipline practitioners are at least interesting.

And anyway it solved chronic neck pain in little time.

NHS takes forever for this gooseberry fool, when you're in chronic pain and can't move your neck you try things and it helped me immensely. Physio therapy wasn't really working, I'm not sure I had the right excercises or what.

But that's an entirely different subject. It's like paying to make the house smell nice. Does strawberry float all but if people feel better so be it.

(There is medical support by the nhs for lower back pain by the way which I also had and now I can feel more sensation and less restlessness in my legs after I popped a disk 8 years ago, which even helps me sleep. Restless leg syndrome (which isn't made up either) strawberry floating sucks.)

Most medical issues have a root cause, more dramatic therapies are risky indeed however doctors treat symptoms, I am much more aware of my posture also. Even most GPs know little about back problems, muscle knots and so on or don't take them seriously and take strawberry floating weeks with referrals to clinics.

Nothing wrong with trying different things. Many people including medical professionals don't pay much attention to posture and posture correction eg Alexandra technique and you can indeed study those things. Totally with you on the mystical bullshit.

Don't worry I spent considerably less than the cost of a few good massages and people get those.

I was crying with pain and then I wasn't really. Honestly I was massively surprised as a skeptic myself the help it did very quickly, I was constantly asking questions and double guessing myself and I read material on the nhs and various other sites (similar to webmd etc). fact was for me the pain improved considerably and the treatment felt good. As as much as I wanted to convince myself it was placebo and how do I know this is science or working etc etc I couldn't deny it helped on the pain front. So there you go.

Some chiropractors do spend many years studying physiology and causes of back pain, it's not a medical degree, but they're not clueless. Obviously there are quacks out there but there are those that help and aren't trying to swoop you away from conventional medicine and take all your money.

"It should be common sense to just accept the message Nintendo are sending out through their actions."
_________________________________________

❤ btw GRcade costs money and depends on donations - please support one of the UK's oldest video gaming forums → HOW TO DONATE
User avatar
Moggy
"Special"
Joined in 2008
AKA: Moggy

PostRe: Smart Assistants & Smart Speakers
by Moggy » Thu May 03, 2018 1:13 pm

Green Gecko wrote:I went to an osteopath as well, this was combined with vigorous massage tools, heat ointments/beeswax, and soft tissue manipulation just like an osteopath and probably cost the same or less than private osteopathy which I did in the NHS. Some of the mixed discipline practitioners are at least interesting.

And anyway it solved chronic neck pain in little time.

NHS takes forever for this gooseberry fool, when you're in chronic pain and can't move your neck you try things and it helped me immensely. Physio therapy wasn't really working, I'm not sure I had the right excercises or what.

But that's an entirely different subject. It's like paying to make the house smell nice. Does strawberry float all but if people feel better so be it.

(There is medical support by the nhs for lower back pain by the way which I also had and now I can feel more sensation and less restlessness in my legs after I popped a disk 8 years ago, which even helps me sleep. Restless leg syndrome (which isn't made up either) strawberry floating sucks.)

Most medical issues have a root cause, more dramatic therapies are risky indeed however doctors treat symptoms, I am much more aware of my posture also. Even most GPs know little about back problems, muscle knots and so on or don't take them seriously and take strawberry floating weeks with referrals to clinics.

Nothing wrong with trying different things. Many people including medical professionals don't pay much attention to posture and posture correction eg Alexandra technique and you can indeed study those things. Totally with you on the mystical bullshit.

Don't worry I spent considerably less than the cost of a few good massages and people get those.

I was crying with pain and then I wasn't really. Honestly I was massively surprised as a skeptic myself the help it did very quickly, I was constantly asking questions and double guessing myself and I read material on the nhs and various other sites (similar to webmd etc). fact was for me the pain improved considerably and the treatment felt good. As as much as I wanted to convince myself it was placebo and how do I know this is science or working etc etc I couldn't deny it helped on the pain front. So there you go.

Some chiropractors do spend many years studying physiology and causes of back pain, it's not a medical degree, but they're not clueless. Obviously there are quacks out there but there are those that help and aren't trying to swoop you away from conventional medicine and take all your money.


Green Gecko wrote:my messages get pretty strawberry floated over text anyway so I often just give up. So much scrolling!!


Yep. ;)


Return to “Stuff”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Fruits Punch Samurai, Garth, Grumpy David, Vermilion, wensleydale and 249 guests