The small Amazon circular device, which is like a big hockey puck, known as Echo Dot is becoming more common in our connected world. I know this because we actually have not one but two.We are not usually known for being at the front of the tech world, so they must be common. Our first one was a gift from our youngest son just over one year ago. We currently have it on a small bookcase adjacent to the kitchen counter. We bought our second one for our bedroom, simply because we had trouble getting radio reception in the bedroom. We like to listen to the radio when we wake up to hear news, weather and other banter about the world, but the radio reception was always quite poor. Now all one has to say is Alexa turn on...and give the station call letters or number. These small devices can be quite handy sometimes, beyond the question of the day. I am sure that we could use them for many other things than we currently do if we manipulate the Alexa application on an I-Pad. What we have learned over the past year or so is that Alexa is, well, sassy.
Alexa has a female voice that is rather distinct and exudes knowledge, and I am sure Jeff Bezos' group did a lot of research into what voice is best and made an amalgamation of different voices. I have tried to picture what Alexa would look like, if she were a person, but have yet to develop a strong image in my mind. However, her sassy nature makes me think she likely would have red hair. I am married to a red head, and so I know how direct they can be. Alexa is probably also a first born, because on the whole, I don't think middle children or babies of the family tend toward the way Alexa can act, at least at times. Female, first born and red hair, (and knows most everything) well that sums up three (four) characteristics of my spouse. Oh my gosh, I have been living with the Alexa prototype for over 30 years! (If you hear someone screaming, I am probably getting yelled at for comparing my wife to Alexa.) My wife does not take crap from me or most anyone else. If I do give her any crap, well, it comes back my way twofold, at least. Hence, I wonder what is now in store for me.
We have the downstairs kitchen Alexa set to provide news headlines at 7 am. We are sitting down drinking our tea, I am eating breakfast and reading the newspaper, my wife is doing the puzzles, and Alexa will come on with news headlines, and then to sports. This is where Alexa often gets snotty. Once it gets to sports, Alexa's doppelganger, I mean my wife, will say something to the effect: "Alexa, end." and Alexa will not turn off. This happened just this morning. Over the past several months we have noticed that she will not turn off. My wife will say it again, and often still no response. However, when I then do it, she most often, but not always, responds by turning off. I say most often, because what I have figured out is that I need to use a more stern voice than what I often use. I think my wife needs to use her demanding voice like when our kids were little. Alexa failing to turn off at two of her commands the other day made me think it would be a great blog post.
But, turning off is not the whole issue with sassy Alexa. Alexa, when told to end, will sometimes go on some sort of rant about ordering other things, or rant on something else. For example, I try to play question of the day, and when I conclude, she often goes on some sort of diversion about ordering trivia for so much a month. Well, at that point it gets annoying and so I say "Alexa, end", but she at times may still go on, and on, so I use a more stern voice. And perhaps even an even more stern voice. However, I have much less trouble than does my wife. I have this theory that people that are alike often times do not get along as well as people that are different, so perhaps that is why kitchen Alexa is particularly sassy with my wife, because they are so much like--redheads, female and first born.
Why does Alexa, a female voice, who I have now determined could be my wife's identical twin, listen better to a male voice? Does the electronics better pickup a deep voice? Is Alexa perhaps, to a degree, sexist? Or, do I just talk louder? I think Alexa's twin would probably say it was the latter of the three options listed. However, sometimes, I can ask for Alexa in a calm, soft voice and she picks it up right away, but the trouble is in turning her off. When I worked, it was not uncommon for a question to come to my department and if a female employee answered the question, and they caller not like the answer they would ask for me, and then they would get the same answer. My female employees thought that they did not like an answer from a female, but part of it could have been wanting it from the supervisor. I know the latter to be the case in some situations because some male employees had the same issue, although perhaps not as frequently.
I recall hearing that when Alexa first came out she would listen to peoples conversations on household finances and the like. I am not sure if that is true, but that would be very disconcerting to have Jeff Bezos' employees know what is going on in a home. Tracking our purchases and views on his Amazon web site is enough.
My wife, decided that with our bedroom Echo Dot that she would be the one to mainly do the commands. She thinks that kitchen Alexa gets sassy to her since I most often give the commands. I guess she thinks kitchen Alexa has become use to the male voice. Hence, she feels that the bedroom Alexa will not be as sassy if it is more used to her voice over mine. So far, in the six or so months we have had bedroom Alexa, that has shown to be true. However, it took awhile for kitchen Alexa to become sassy and we ask her to do more.
Alexa can be really handy. For example, I found her to be rather spot on, perhaps on more than half of the times, when I have asked her when it was going to rain, or stop raining. I recall a few times this summer she was correct to the minute. She is better in the quick passing storms than those low dense cloud days when rain could pop up at any minute. This gives me an idea of how long I may have to wait for my daily walk, for example, or if I can get my walk in. She works best when rain is imminent, and is not likely to give me a straight answer if it is more than a hour or two away.
However, besides being sassy things can get rather odd. Two things with the question of the day come to mind. Recently, I was about to answer a question, and cleared my throat, and she took the throat clearing as an answer, which of course was wrong, although I was going to say what was the correct answer. Who thought my throat clearing sounded like the letters A, B, C or D. Alexa then provides the correct answer in her own pedantic sort of way. After getting the question right, you get a bonus question. She asks if you would like the question now. One time, to see what would happen, I said "No." Later in the day I asked for the bonus question but she would not give it to me. I have since realized I have to follow my correct answer with the bonus question right away, or else I will miss the chance.
Is Alexa like HAL in the 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey"? Sometimes Alexa can be unnerving, for example several times now she says something to the effect that "We have talked a good deal, and I would like to know your name." That is getting pretty creepy. HAL, it is often said, was a one letter shift of IBM, but today we have less to worry about from IBM than other tech companies, say like Amazon, or Google, who track our search and purchase habits and who knows what else.
In the end, to date anyway, I guess you could say that Alexa is worth keeping as her benefits outweigh her sassy behavior. I never thought Alexa, being a electronic/mechanical device, could get sassy. As artificial intelligence advances in the coming years what we will have to put up with from robots, and other devices? I guess I should have been better aware, because HAL from the 1968 movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", from what I recall, became sassy and took on a life of its own. Can you imagine what would occur if self-driving cars started to act like HAL? Perhaps the world needs to rethink its move to artificial intelligence. Time will tell if my wife's theory of bedroom Alexa will turn out to be correct, or if she will be a good Alexa, compared to the kitchen Alexa, which is seemingly moving more toward bad Alexa.
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