it's hard not to see this as the wasted potential of 10,000 human minds that could otherwise be solving real problems and needs. i'm curious to hear how alexa (and google assistant, et al) can be justified beyond small novelties that would be completely adequately serviced by non-cloud and/or non-voice means. i'm aware of the trickiness one can accomplish with a rube-goldberg-esque system of custom triggers, custom hardware, and carefully spoken phrases. i remain unimpressed by the segment and coupled with the significant privacy issues it feels like such a net-negative.