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Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

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Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#71

Post by lkbm »

blrgeek wrote: post #51
hnriot wrote: post #39

While this is incredibly smart and a very impressive application of machine learning, does anyone actually want this? I'm quite capable of looking at traffic reports or bus times myself when I need to. I actually think I'd find this pretty annoying, if my phone told me sports score before I'd had a chance to watch the game, or if it started second guessing me at every turn. This has the feel of valet parking, while i…

Earlier browsers had one address box, and one search box. Chrome moved both together - and many people liked it. I'm sure you like Google Instant and Google Suggest - with the results/search terms showing up even as you type - allowing you to refine your query on the fly even before you complete it! Google Now is one big leap in the same direction. I search for a lot of things, and I would like instant access to a lo…

I actually hate Google Instant. I like to start typing before I'm done looking at what came up and I like to take notes in the search field. I wish I could turn it off, but that setting never seems to persist across sessions.

Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#72

Post by ddw »

habosa wrote: post #14

I have been using Google Now for a few months now and it has been amazing. Example 1: One night I was going to a Roots concert and I went through the venue's website on my Google Chrome on my laptop. Then, right around concert time, Google Now alerted me to what subway I should take to get there. Example 2: I searched for the Phillies score once on my tablet, and now my phone tells me about the score of each game. Ag…

Here's one that impressed me: I put on my calendar an appointment for a movie I was going to see w/ the name of the movie. Google Now on that day pulled up a card of the the showtimes and theater info for the theater of the movie that I was seeing. I hadn't put the name of the theater in my appoointment.

Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#73

Post by jmcqk6 »

revelation wrote: post #23
habosa wrote: post #14

I have been using Google Now for a few months now and it has been amazing. Example 1: One night I was going to a Roots concert and I went through the venue's website on my Google Chrome on my laptop. Then, right around concert time, Google Now alerted me to what subway I should take to get there. Example 2: I searched for the Phillies score once on my tablet, and now my phone tells me about the score of each game. Ag…

Are you sure Google guessed in Example 3? It usually does the "leave now to get there on time" for every event in your calendar (for which it can find some kind of geographical reference, fitting or not).

I'm not sure how it figured it out in my case. I turned on the service and a few days later, I noticed it would start alerting me my commute times in the morning and evening. I was looking up something on google maps and it had marked my work and home locations on the map. Kind of creepy, but I'm starting to like it. The way that it anticipates my needs is very helpful.

Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#74

Post by buu700 »

buu700 wrote: post #35
bdr wrote: post #22

Interesting. I'm thinking that Android vs Apple may be decided on the simple fact that sufficiently-better AI trumps any-amount-better UI. Lawsuits and supposed openness be damned.

That actually seems like a really interesting observation. I've never specifically thought of systems in terms of UI v. AI before, but it makes sense if you think of all operations in any computational system as the result of data manipulation by some "intelligence", and user interface as more specifically the interface between that data and user intelligence. In a computational system, computational intelligence wil…

A couple more thoughts:

* This idea of data being acted upon by intelligences is essentially a generalisation of the canonical algorithms and data structures.

* The argument presented would also explain why anyone accustomed to a certain command line interface will swear by it over most graphical interfaces to the same system (the reason being that commands are usually a much more direct interface between the system and the user intelligence).

Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#75

Post by habosa »

ryanhuff wrote: post #70
bdr wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trying to be glib, but: so what? Some people will use it, because it will provide value to them. I may be one of them. Kids born today will, if nothing changes, think this stuff is absolutely normal. Your reaction is a valid one, and I have my limits too, but I think we're beyond the point of merely acknowledging that it's creepy. Please go further: Where is the line? Why? And what are you willing to do about…

What happens when you perform a one-off search? For example, lets say a friend asks if you know the score to the Yankees game? You really have no interest in baseball, but you do the search anyhow. Should that really influence your Google Now profile?

It does, but you can always remove the team fairly easily.

Re: Google's Answer to Siri Thinks Ahead

#76

Post by bdr »

buu700 wrote: post #74
buu700 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That actually seems like a really interesting observation. I've never specifically thought of systems in terms of UI v. AI before, but it makes sense if you think of all operations in any computational system as the result of data manipulation by some "intelligence", and user interface as more specifically the interface between that data and user intelligence. In a computational system, computational intelligence wil…

A couple more thoughts: * This idea of data being acted upon by intelligences is essentially a generalisation of the canonical algorithms and data structures. * The argument presented would also explain why anyone accustomed to a certain command line interface will swear by it over most graphical interfaces to the same system (the reason being that commands are usually a much more direct interface between the system…

One more detail to throw in: the user as data source will move toward expressing what they want rather than how to get it.
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