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Alexa+

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Re: Alexa+

#341

Post by acdha »

nashashmi wrote: post #76

I remember when law officers wanted the Alexa recording at the home of a murder. Amazon did not give it up. I always thought that data was meaningless if it takes a person hours to go through it. Now we have AI. Which means the data is not meaningless. And the always on feature actually means something. And that means all your data at home can be at someone's fingertips ... because say they are looking for ways to ma…

Amazon has given police recordings:

https://apnews.com/general-news-343c0f5ed0884d1eb1dbe911e8ce...

https://broward.us/2023/07/18/amazons-alexa-is-surprise-witn...

Re: Alexa+

#342

Post by theultdev »

nix0n wrote: post #339
theultdev wrote: post #228

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the timer getting dirty is not the only issue. you don't always have hands free to fiddle with a watch. more often than not, both hands are doing something, and setting a timer is... timely.

You don't need both hands free to set a watch's timer. You can still hold something in the hand that the watch is strapped to.

you need a few fingers free to touch the watch on your wrist.

sometimes you're putting something in the oven, sometimes you're mixing something (holding the bowl and whip)

tons of instances where two hands are in use and voice commands help.

Re: Alexa+

#343

Post by wiremine »

taeric wrote: post #290
wiremine wrote: post #105

I'm not optimistic, but my recent experiences with Gemini's mobile app gives me pause on my pessimism. My wife and I are planning a family vacation, and we had some questions about various destinations. I opened Gemini, and we had a helpful 10-minute conversation. If Alexa+ can provide a similar experience, I can see us having more of those voice-based sessions.

I'm more than a little curious on what sort of questions you would have needed an AI to query regarding a trip? Like, genuinely curious what sort of conversation you had. We travel as a family a fair bit nowadays, and building an agenda for each day of the trip is surprisingly not that difficult if you are going to any common destination. Biggest thing to not forget is to add slack so that you can rearrange on the fl…

> genuinely curious what sort of conversation you had

We're in the US, and we're looking at a UK trip. I've lived in the UK, and we've done a fair amount of international travel. We're in the "brainstorming" mode. I'd characterize the conversation as verbal googling.

We were asking questions about distances between cities, typical ticket rates for trains, things to do in various locations, etc.

Re: Alexa+

#344

Post by taeric »

wiremine wrote: post #343
taeric wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm more than a little curious on what sort of questions you would have needed an AI to query regarding a trip? Like, genuinely curious what sort of conversation you had. We travel as a family a fair bit nowadays, and building an agenda for each day of the trip is surprisingly not that difficult if you are going to any common destination. Biggest thing to not forget is to add slack so that you can rearrange on the fl…

> genuinely curious what sort of conversation you had We're in the US, and we're looking at a UK trip. I've lived in the UK, and we've done a fair amount of international travel. We're in the "brainstorming" mode. I'd characterize the conversation as verbal googling. We were asking questions about distances between cities, typical ticket rates for trains, things to do in various locations, etc.

Ok, so it isn't so much that you were brainstorming in a creative way. You were largely using it as a way to get various searches recorded all through a single "session"/"interface?" I think that makes a ton of sense. Thanks!

Re: Alexa+

#345

Post by brookst »

dlcarrier wrote: post #183
brookst wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s wild. What kinds of things do you ask about? I fine all of the modern LLMs to be very very good, with some errors but no worse than would turn up in a google search.

That's a pretty low bar, at least over the last several years. I feel like any time I ask Google something uncommon, it presumes a meant something else, and is hard set on answering that question, no matter how many quotes or minus symbols I add to the search.

It is a mistake to use modern Google like a Boolean search engine of old. You almost have to use natural language to get decent results.

Re: Alexa+

#346

Post by antifa »

cromka wrote: post #253
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has already done this. Destroyed its existing assistant product -- removed key functionality, de-staffed the team, moved it all under Gemini. I'm in a few Polestar car user groups, and people are pissed that their Android based head units can no longer do basic integration via assistant stuff that the car was initially sold to them able to do. In some cases they are blaming Polestar, in some cases connecting t…

I've been saying this for years, but I am still surprised there was no class action against Google for borking up their Home speakers. Mine literally don't even understand "STOP" anymore when I ask them to stop playing my podcast. I am not kidding, every couple months they lose some basic functionality. If that's not a modern version of planned obsolescence then I don't know what is.

We might need a new term, like we're in the Darth Vader Economy now, pray that corporations/CEOs/presidents don't alter away your jobs, features, and rights any future.

Re: Alexa+

#347

Post by dangus »

wat10000 wrote: post #222
dangus wrote: post #220

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. People are acting like putting some music on is so damn hard, and that it's critical that we spend 100% of our time listening to it. OMG if I can't control my music in the shower I'll literally melt.

I love watching HN commenters absolutely refuse to understand that other people are different and have different preferences and that's OK.

I acknowledge that other people have other preferences, but my criticism mainly relates to the way assistant and smart speaker companies have sunk so much money into a product that has limited utility and helps people in such a mild way.

People are willing to spend So I acknowledge that some people prefer this, but I think it's dumb enough that if I was a hypothetical investor back when these technologies were new I would not have gone anywhere near them.

Re: Alexa+

#348

Post by wat10000 »

dangus wrote: post #347
wat10000 wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love watching HN commenters absolutely refuse to understand that other people are different and have different preferences and that's OK.

I acknowledge that other people have other preferences, but my criticism mainly relates to the way assistant and smart speaker companies have sunk so much money into a product that has limited utility and helps people in such a mild way. People are willing to spend So I acknowledge that some people prefer this, but I think it's dumb enough that if I was a hypothetical investor back when these technologies were new I…

Nope. Don’t backpedal. You’re going after people who say they like having smart speakers, not the companies that try to sell them. “OMG if I can't control my music in the shower I'll literally melt.” This is very clearly not directed at Amazon.

Re: Alexa+

#349

Post by sbfeibish »

Arthanos wrote: post #152

>Let’s say you need to get your oven fixed—Alexa+ will be able to navigate the web, use Thumbtack to discover the relevant service provider, authenticate, arrange the repair, and come back to tell you it’s done—there’s no need to supervise or intervene. This is a disaster waiting to happen. I don't trust an LLM to choose between two brands of dish soap for me let alone pick a contractor, schedule a repair, and make a…

Your home might have a single provider you've previously contracted with for fixing your fridge, air conditioner,... We had such a service.

Re: Alexa+

#350

Post by dangus »

wat10000 wrote: post #348
dangus wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I acknowledge that other people have other preferences, but my criticism mainly relates to the way assistant and smart speaker companies have sunk so much money into a product that has limited utility and helps people in such a mild way. People are willing to spend So I acknowledge that some people prefer this, but I think it's dumb enough that if I was a hypothetical investor back when these technologies were new I…

Nope. Don’t backpedal. You’re going after people who say they like having smart speakers, not the companies that try to sell them. “OMG if I can't control my music in the shower I'll literally melt.” This is very clearly not directed at Amazon.

Both can be true at once. I am not backpedaling.

I was additionally referring to my previous comment in the thread, which was not just about the users of smart speakers but the functions they perform. My overall opinion is that smart speakers have limited value. I was pointing out how everything you might prefer to do on them has an existing or easy alternative or just isn’t much of a solution.

I acknowledge that people are allowed to have their own preferences but I still think they’re a dumb preference and I’m exercising my preference to dunk on that preference just like I’ll prefer to criticize anyone who says the Jeep Grand Cherokee is a good purchase.

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