Leaving your home to Alexa !
I was fascinated by my friend's comment, "my kid thinks that we have a new person in our home called Alexa". You must me as perplexed as I was and therefore, let me try to explain in this post who is Alexa and what is the disruption it is going to create in future in a non-techie manner?
Apple announced a new product, Apple HomePod recently. It has been launched after the success of Amazon echo and Google Home. These products are hardware for virtual assistants provided by the respective companies. Apple has been selling most of the devices with Siri. Google on the other hand has been perfecting Google now to automate various tasks. The most successful assistant so far has been Alexa by Amazon. There biggest disruption, which differentiates these products from other tech products is the value of the software. The software in all these products are valued much higher than the hardware itself..
Each of the virtual assistants demonstrate the capability in Artificial Intelligence (AI). We are not that far as Matrix, but slowly we are going there. I have used Google's product to send email, create calendar entries, make calls and send SMSs using voice. You can say "Ok Google" followed by "Send SMS to Alex, I am on my way" and that is all it requires. The voice recognition has been quite good and the ability to learn makes these softwares extremely robust. Google turned the personal assistant into a hardware, which you can hook up to your WIFI. You can then connect other smart devices to your WIFI and you feel like a kind in your castle. Taking similar approach Amazon and Apple turned their virtual assistants into a hardware device.
So why Alexa is the most important of all. This is where Amazon comes in and makes the difference leveraging its mammoth e-commerce. Using Alexa you can purchase books, music, movies etc using your voice. Amazing isn't it? So, you can not only control your Air Conditioner, Television, Music System and Coffee machine, but also can ask Alexa to buy a book on the go or ask it to stream music using your Spotify collection. Coming back to the title of the article, you can configure Alexa so that your kid can say "Alexa call daddy" and you will get a phone call from your kid immediately.
Though these devices make sense only if you have smart appliances. However, there are cheaper ways to make them work. For example, at $30 you can get a smart switch, which can be turned on or off using AI devices. You can even access them when you are outside your home and forgot to switch them off. Even if you do not have smart devices, you can use Alexa to read your email, send messages and play music.
Given the utilities of these devices and a surge of smart products, our eternal search for 'more' comfort will win. This will lead to millions of these devices installed in the developed countries followed by the developing nations. Is there any catch ? yes there is one! any device hooked up to WIFI can be controlled using AI and therefore, if you control the AI, you control the entire house. Hackers may play loud music at night in your house or start the Air Conditioners when you are away. There is also potential threat to steal you emails, SMSs, photos etc. Smart switches require them to be on all the time thus increase in potential damage during thunder strikes. Lastly, getting everything smart may increase your bills tremendously.
So what is the disruption this technology is creating ? First, these technologies are going to make a lot of dent to the search engine as one can say, "Alexa whats the news" and you get the news. You don't need to search using Google. I think the unshakable ground of Google search must have felt a small tremor and will start to work a lot on its Google Home device. If you don't see ads that means Google does not make money as well. Second, AI is becoming reality, meaning the phones and the devices are going to be Alexa compatible. The relationship between Amazon and the technology providers are going to change dramatically. Smart devices will be paying Amazon to be Alexa compatible. Similar revenue will come from Siri compatible devices. Third, there will be huge opportunity for companies in the developing countries such as India to start manufacturing smart devices or appliances where Amazon is present (China may not have this advantage). Fourth, modularization of the smart circuit should happen that manufacturer can provide either a non-smart, Alexa or Siri compatible appliances without incurring huge cost. That is they will separately sell you a dongle to make your device smart. Fifth, we may observe that Google and Apple may acquire or make new deals with e-commerce giants to sell products as well.
As I shared earlier, there are both pros and cons of using AI based devices at home. These devices will change the entire landscape of home appliance industry. Further, they are going to change the way we read news, shop online and most importantly, the way we live. I am sure the days are not far when you will be able to have a meaningful conversation with these devices and when you enter home say "Hey Alexa, I am home" and it replies, "I missed you, how was your day, let me play your favorite song".
Apple announced a new product, Apple HomePod recently. It has been launched after the success of Amazon echo and Google Home. These products are hardware for virtual assistants provided by the respective companies. Apple has been selling most of the devices with Siri. Google on the other hand has been perfecting Google now to automate various tasks. The most successful assistant so far has been Alexa by Amazon. There biggest disruption, which differentiates these products from other tech products is the value of the software. The software in all these products are valued much higher than the hardware itself..
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| Apple HomePod |
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Amazon Echo
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Though these devices make sense only if you have smart appliances. However, there are cheaper ways to make them work. For example, at $30 you can get a smart switch, which can be turned on or off using AI devices. You can even access them when you are outside your home and forgot to switch them off. Even if you do not have smart devices, you can use Alexa to read your email, send messages and play music.
Given the utilities of these devices and a surge of smart products, our eternal search for 'more' comfort will win. This will lead to millions of these devices installed in the developed countries followed by the developing nations. Is there any catch ? yes there is one! any device hooked up to WIFI can be controlled using AI and therefore, if you control the AI, you control the entire house. Hackers may play loud music at night in your house or start the Air Conditioners when you are away. There is also potential threat to steal you emails, SMSs, photos etc. Smart switches require them to be on all the time thus increase in potential damage during thunder strikes. Lastly, getting everything smart may increase your bills tremendously.
So what is the disruption this technology is creating ? First, these technologies are going to make a lot of dent to the search engine as one can say, "Alexa whats the news" and you get the news. You don't need to search using Google. I think the unshakable ground of Google search must have felt a small tremor and will start to work a lot on its Google Home device. If you don't see ads that means Google does not make money as well. Second, AI is becoming reality, meaning the phones and the devices are going to be Alexa compatible. The relationship between Amazon and the technology providers are going to change dramatically. Smart devices will be paying Amazon to be Alexa compatible. Similar revenue will come from Siri compatible devices. Third, there will be huge opportunity for companies in the developing countries such as India to start manufacturing smart devices or appliances where Amazon is present (China may not have this advantage). Fourth, modularization of the smart circuit should happen that manufacturer can provide either a non-smart, Alexa or Siri compatible appliances without incurring huge cost. That is they will separately sell you a dongle to make your device smart. Fifth, we may observe that Google and Apple may acquire or make new deals with e-commerce giants to sell products as well.
As I shared earlier, there are both pros and cons of using AI based devices at home. These devices will change the entire landscape of home appliance industry. Further, they are going to change the way we read news, shop online and most importantly, the way we live. I am sure the days are not far when you will be able to have a meaningful conversation with these devices and when you enter home say "Hey Alexa, I am home" and it replies, "I missed you, how was your day, let me play your favorite song".
Very informative. However, limitations in current Home Automation assistants could provide what can be expected in future products.
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