Smartphone voice-controlled apps are taking over American homes

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Published Date 5/16/2019

To those who grew up seeing movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, the future contained a scary version of artificial intelligence, where a disembodied voice not only responded to commands but eventually took on a life of its own.

Today, we find voice assistant speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant acting on our commands to start the coffeemaker, turn the lights on, make the windows coverings go up and even release food into the dog’s bowl, all before we make our way to the bathroom to brush our teeth in the morning.

At first it was both exciting and a bit scary getting to know these systems and what they were capable of doing especially if we were not tech experts. “In its early time, smart home tech might have left people frustrated, confused, because of compatibility and connectivity,” says one expert who runs a website for connected technology consumers. “Then, right around when Echo [the first Amazon Alexa smart speaker] came on the scene, people really started getting intrigued.”

In a recent article in The Orange County Register, Kathie Bozanich talks about how Wi-Fi is an uncomplicated way to direct internet-connected devices to automate daily tasks in people’s lives. “Through their artificial intelligence capabilities, they are building their own knowledge base about your routines and behaviors to better anticipate your needs,” she says.

At some point these voice controlled systems will learn to predict events and ask for your input, according to experts. Is the air quality expected to be bad? Don’t be surprised if your system asks if you’d like it to turn on the air purifier. Cold weather on the way? You may be contacted through your smartphone to adjust the heat settings in your house or to make sure the doggie door opens to let your pet come inside.

Bozanich quotes Kathy Sheehan, executive vice president at a market research company who spoke at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES). “According to research, 29 percent of Americans had talked to a voice assistant in the last month, and six out of 10 of those who own a voice assistant are using it to connect with other smart devices. We’re seeing the voice become ubiquitous in users’ lives today. We are really at an inflection point in terms of how we think of technology.”

Naturally, there is an app for whatever tech experts imagine we might need, and if there isn’t one, there soon will be. U.S. consumers are expected to buy about 29.4 million smart-home products in 2019, a 23 percent increase over 2018, according to recent predictions, and the belief is that it will change a lot of lives over the next few years. “As the tech comes into its own, security and monitoring devices like video doorbells, cameras, motion sensors, and lock systems still lead the way,” says Bozanich. “Other popular categories include audiovisual/entertainment systems, smart energy, and HVAC (including thermostats) and lighting. However, with the popularity of voice, there is a huge push to automate and connect more everyday products and appliances.

This past January the CES gave us some peeks as to what the future may hold, including a digital shower that connects to Alexa capable of taking your voice command for temperature settings before you even get out of bed. A smart countertop oven will recognize the food placed inside it and automatically set the time and temperature to cook it to perfection, even permitting you to peek inside using its camera with a feed to your smartphone to see how it’s doing.

How about telling Alexa to mow the lawn? Not unlike a Roomba, a hungry little bot will go outside and shave your grass in neat lines using web-based weather forecasts to determine the best time to mow.

Homebuilders are getting in on the game as a growing number of new communities now offer smart home devices as standard features. Front door locks, lighting, and thermostats are conveniently accessed through a smartphone app using Siri, with homebuyers now expecting high tech in their new homes. Resale is not lagging far behind, however, with Coldwell Banker’s southern California market offering Smart Home Staging Kits to sellers that includes a smart speaker, doorbell, security camera, door lock, light system, and thermostat to make a resale home more attractive to buyers.

According to a recent Associated Press article by Anick Jesdanun, the biggest concern with all this connectivity is privacy. “Many devices are constantly listening for commands and connect to corporate servers to carry them out. Not everyone is going to be comfortable with live microphones in their homes.” Jesdanun explains how, for the most part, recordings will leave home only when you trigger the device, such as by speaking a command phrase like “OK Google” or pressing a button to get the device’s attention. But it was reported that an Amazon device mistakenly recorded and sent a family’s private conversation to an acquaintance after the device mistakenly thought it heard the trigger word followed by a “send message” request.

“Check what safeguards a device offers before buying,” says Jesdanun. “Smart speakers, for instance, typically have a mute button to disable the microphone completely. Mozilla’s Privacy Not Included project seeks to warn consumers about products with security or privacy problems. A general web search also might turn up complaints.”

Source: Orange County Register, Associated Press, TBWS

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