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0 pointsdntrkv4y ago0 comments

Ignoring the fact that the research isn't only used one for one purpose, a proper assistant is hugely valuable to me.

Simple things like:

"Remind me to X tomorrow at 9am" "Add Y to the shopping list" "Remind me to do Z when I get home"

This is the only way I do reminders now and it's great. It's especially useful while driving, or when I'm in bed nearly asleep and remember something, I can just tell Siri without having to get up and use my phone.

And as far as smart home controls, being able to say "Siri, turn all the lights on" or "Siri, turn the heater on" without having to stop what I'm doing and walk around the house flicking switches is really nice.

Assistants provide a very noticeable QoL improvement for me in many aspects. I think that's more than most other products on the market can say. And that's not even touching on the lives saved from not having to use your phone while driving.

0 comments

realo4y ago

Yes but... Siri is (to me) not there yet. Promising but not there.

Siri is unaware of so many things.

A simple command that would actually be useful (but fails totally):

« Siri, remind me to buy milk the next time I go get groceries. »

And even then... I should not have to mention the part about « groceries ». The request should be perfectly understood with a full stop after the word « milk » and a reminder should pop up automatically whenever I am in a grocery (any grocery).

An even better Siri would also be able to a categorize things properly. For example, if later in the day I say « Siri, I will need chicken, butter, salt and cardamom for my next recipe », Siri should automatically add those to the « milk » next time I go to the grocery.

Pokepokalypse4y ago

heh. I'll just say that Alexa rarely misses an opportunity to "remind" me when I need to buy something.

kvee4y ago

Anyone know why there is no longer a way to turn off all the suggestions on Alexa anymore?

I've used Alexa since it came out and they've added annoying random suggestions over the years that you were able to turn off in various settings menus.

But in the past year or Alexa has been upselling me stuff or randomly telling me about features I don't want to hear about when I'm just trying to turn on a light. And it seems like there's now actually no way to turn this stuff off.

Does anyone know if you can turn off Alexa upselling or is it going to just be a part of having a smart home forever?

everdrive4y ago

I'm still not very impressed by this, as it can be totally accomplished by a pad of paper and a pen.

I'm believe the most valid use of AI/ML is to perform tasks that people either cannot currently do, or cannot easily do. For example, ai-based up-scaling of old video game pre-renders. It's not really feasible for a person to do this well, unless you simply rebuild everything with a team of artists. And you could argue that up-scaling images for a video game is trivial, since all video games are trivial. But, the point is that the task at hand requires the help of a computer, whereas a to-do list, or using a light switch does not.

what_ever4y ago

Let's see the situations when you are setting those reminders -

1. In bed, all ready to fall asleep, you get up to get your notebook from your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.

2. Cooking with hands all messy, you wash your hands, dry them, go to your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.

3. Driving at 40mph, so you pull over in a parking lot, take out your notebook from your bag and add the reminder.

Yeah, I will take telling Google assistant to do this instead.

Balgair4y ago

I gotta ask, can one not just use their memory and remember to write those things down in a few minutes/the morning? I know that kinda defeats the purpose of a notebook. But, like, remembering to write down to get more garlic should not be difficult in any way. Also, if one is so perturbed at forgetting things then some other questions and areas need to be explored. If one is having difficulty remembering things this much, I fear that there are much deeper issues and possibly some quite serious health problems at play.

1 more reply

everdrive4y ago

1. There's nothing wrong with keeping that same notebook by your bed. Also, you might wake your spouse up by talking to Google.

2. Don't get so messy when cooking, also it hardly matters if your temporary notebook gets a bit dirty.

3. Don't multitask when driving. Taking your eyes off the road is the main concern, but testing has shown driver's voice control systems to be distracting to a significant degree. And, voice assistants are at least somewhat similar.

saemei4y ago

> tasks that people either cannot currently do, or cannot easily do.

A todo entry or flipping lights via assistants also qualify as such tasks, if we broaden the definition of "easy". The flow from having the thought of an idea or a song to making a note or playing the song by just speaking out loud is just so convenient, without having to context switch from whatever one is doing. Controlling a set of IoT devices with custom commands is another good usecase.

Of course, not everyone has a workflow where a digital assistant fits well today. However, I expect that their usefulness will increase exponentially with time. We're surely heading to the sci-fi future where each house will have a personalized digital guardian responding to the wishes of the family, Jarvis style, no?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

realo4y ago

Yes but... Siri is (to me) not there yet. Promising but not there.

Siri is unaware of so many things.

A simple command that would actually be useful (but fails totally):

« Siri, remind me to buy milk the next time I go get groceries. »

Pokepokalypse4y ago

heh. I'll just say that Alexa rarely misses an opportunity to "remind" me when I need to buy something.

kvee4y ago

Anyone know why there is no longer a way to turn off all the suggestions on Alexa anymore?

I've used Alexa since it came out and they've added annoying random suggestions over the years that you were able to turn off in various settings menus.

Does anyone know if you can turn off Alexa upselling or is it going to just be a part of having a smart home forever?

everdrive4y ago

I'm still not very impressed by this, as it can be totally accomplished by a pad of paper and a pen.

what_ever4y ago

Let's see the situations when you are setting those reminders -

1. In bed, all ready to fall asleep, you get up to get your notebook from your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.

2. Cooking with hands all messy, you wash your hands, dry them, go to your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.

3. Driving at 40mph, so you pull over in a parking lot, take out your notebook from your bag and add the reminder.

Yeah, I will take telling Google assistant to do this instead.

Balgair4y ago

1 more reply

everdrive4y ago

1. There's nothing wrong with keeping that same notebook by your bed. Also, you might wake your spouse up by talking to Google.

2. Don't get so messy when cooking, also it hardly matters if your temporary notebook gets a bit dirty.

saemei4y ago

> tasks that people either cannot currently do, or cannot easily do.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse