Siri is unaware of so many things.
A simple command that would actually be useful (but fails totally):
« Siri, remind me to buy milk the next time I go get groceries. »
And even then... I should not have to mention the part about « groceries ». The request should be perfectly understood with a full stop after the word « milk » and a reminder should pop up automatically whenever I am in a grocery (any grocery).
An even better Siri would also be able to a categorize things properly. For example, if later in the day I say « Siri, I will need chicken, butter, salt and cardamom for my next recipe », Siri should automatically add those to the « milk » next time I go to the grocery.
I've used Alexa since it came out and they've added annoying random suggestions over the years that you were able to turn off in various settings menus.
But in the past year or Alexa has been upselling me stuff or randomly telling me about features I don't want to hear about when I'm just trying to turn on a light. And it seems like there's now actually no way to turn this stuff off.
Does anyone know if you can turn off Alexa upselling or is it going to just be a part of having a smart home forever?
I'm believe the most valid use of AI/ML is to perform tasks that people either cannot currently do, or cannot easily do. For example, ai-based up-scaling of old video game pre-renders. It's not really feasible for a person to do this well, unless you simply rebuild everything with a team of artists. And you could argue that up-scaling images for a video game is trivial, since all video games are trivial. But, the point is that the task at hand requires the help of a computer, whereas a to-do list, or using a light switch does not.
1. In bed, all ready to fall asleep, you get up to get your notebook from your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.
2. Cooking with hands all messy, you wash your hands, dry them, go to your desk to add the reminder to your notebook.
3. Driving at 40mph, so you pull over in a parking lot, take out your notebook from your bag and add the reminder.
Yeah, I will take telling Google assistant to do this instead.
Human memory is terrible and should be relied upon as infrequently as possible.
2. Don't get so messy when cooking, also it hardly matters if your temporary notebook gets a bit dirty.
3. Don't multitask when driving. Taking your eyes off the road is the main concern, but testing has shown driver's voice control systems to be distracting to a significant degree. And, voice assistants are at least somewhat similar.
A todo entry or flipping lights via assistants also qualify as such tasks, if we broaden the definition of "easy". The flow from having the thought of an idea or a song to making a note or playing the song by just speaking out loud is just so convenient, without having to context switch from whatever one is doing. Controlling a set of IoT devices with custom commands is another good usecase.
Of course, not everyone has a workflow where a digital assistant fits well today. However, I expect that their usefulness will increase exponentially with time. We're surely heading to the sci-fi future where each house will have a personalized digital guardian responding to the wishes of the family, Jarvis style, no?
Simple things like:
"Remind me to X tomorrow at 9am" "Add Y to the shopping list" "Remind me to do Z when I get home"
This is the only way I do reminders now and it's great. It's especially useful while driving, or when I'm in bed nearly asleep and remember something, I can just tell Siri without having to get up and use my phone.
And as far as smart home controls, being able to say "Siri, turn all the lights on" or "Siri, turn the heater on" without having to stop what I'm doing and walk around the house flicking switches is really nice.
Assistants provide a very noticeable QoL improvement for me in many aspects. I think that's more than most other products on the market can say. And that's not even touching on the lives saved from not having to use your phone while driving.