Our debate over smart speakers at Thanksgiving dinner

Last Thanksgiving, my uncle showed off his new smart speaker. We all gathered around to try it out. My niece asked it to play her favorite song. My dad wanted the forecast for the next day. Then my grandpa tried to chat with it using his thick accent. The device kept saying it didn't understand. We all chuckled, but it made me pause. I realized gadgets need to work for everyone in the family. Now when I hear about these speakers, I think about that moment. It's more than just tech specs, it's about real people using them.

3 comments

3 Comments

ericking15d ago

Man, my voice is so bad with that stuff... I once asked for the weather and it started reading me Wikipedia pages about leather. Sort of felt for your grandpa there. These gadgets are supposed to be for everyone, but they really only get some people. Makes you wonder who they're building this stuff for in the first place.

nathan28311d ago

Silicon Valley designs gadgets for perfect voices, ignoring accents like my grandpa's.

the_kim15d ago

Leather? What were you even asking for?