The Power of Voice Assistants

These days Industry 4.0 has turned out to be a buzz word. What does it mean? It refers to the amalgamation of computers, automation systems, big data, and artificial intelligence. Mark Weiser who is known as the Father of Ubiquitous Computing, has posited the emergence of a new era of technology, which is termed as ‘calm technology.’ In this period, people will be able to use technology in ease as similar to voice and gestures (Herbert, 2017).  With such technological advancement, we all can only ponder how this revolution can be an aid for the human race in the future!

With the current trend of various electronic gadgets in the market integrating multiple voice assistants, whether it be Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, Cortana, or others, the future seems that people will be talking to these automated algorithms for all mundane chores. And why not? We can invest our valuable time in other activities, which would add some value to the moments we spend.

So, let us apply a small fragment of imagination and discuss the scope of this technology in diverse sectors of industry in the future. Such devices can find applications in various areas, let us take Amazon Alexa as our example. We will consider some job roles assigned to Alexa in this case,

• Alexa as a Nurse

She can be an aid to physically challenged people/disabled people who, just with the help of their voice, can do tasks such as reminders for medications, connecting to a doctor, telecommunication, and jobs.

• Alexa acts as a Caretaker

Alexa can be a buddy to older adults by talking, entertaining, sharing updates, and even connecting to others without getting off the bed. (Suryaprakash A., personal communication, October 18, 2019)

• Alexa as a Supervisor

Industries can integrate huge machines and processes to Alexa via ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). While managers can sit in his/her cabin and attain all the details running through their manufacturing unit/factory, which can be the number of employees, the number of units produced, scheduled tasks, and likewise.

• Alexa in the Banking Sector

In the banking sector, Alexa can act as a personal assistant to the manager. It can help to determine the credit history of clients and accounting through voice.

• Alexa in Security Systems

Alexa can act as a watchman on integration with appropriate sensors and software. It can help determine individuals from facial recognition and ask for appropriate action. It can be integrated with home security systems such that you can lock the entire house just sitting at a place or a remote location. (Gayathri C., personal communication, October 18, 2019)

• Alexa as a Teaching Assistant

Alexa in educational institutes can help in any lectures to clarify any doubts regarding any subject through information, data, or interactive video tutorials.

If you see, the future seems pretty exciting with Alexa. It can be implemented in diverse locations with diverse functions. Nevertheless, with the advancement of such technologies, humans also need to adapt. For this, they need to update their knowledge and skills regularly. As in the case of Alexa, here are a few things that one must keep in mind, i.e., use of perfect jargon, language restrictions, and newer Alexa skills.

With newer possibilities, there pose more unique challenges, too, and some of the issues. Alexa is/will be facing are language barriers (accents/dialects), interpreting speaking disabilities, privacy issues due to mimicry, risking personal and financial data, overcoming technical issues, and portability of the device.

Looking into the 4 Ps of marketing mix of various Alexa products:

We see any product launched into the market has positive as well as negative impacts on the general public. While, some benefits of Alexa to the society can be advancement with technology – digitalization, time-saving, smarter interaction with machines, and records of actions/plans. While the significant drawbacks to be seen are power backup/ immobility, privacy issues, and loss of data due to malfunction.

However, with passing days, we are witnessing innovations in this product in terms of languages added, skills, and automation systems integration. Furthermore, we can only hope in the future with Industry 4.0 revolution how complex jobs can be done effortlessly.

References

• Herbert, S. (2017, November 1). Voice Assistants: This Is What The Future Of Technology Looks Like. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/herbertrsim/2017/11/01/voice-assistants-this-is-what-the-future-of-technology-looks-like/#a604e4c523aa
• Amazon (2019, November 16), Retrieved from  https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07NQLKYS3/ref=s9_acss_bw_cg_sakshv_2a1_w?pf_rd_m=A1K21FY43GMZF8&pf_rd_s=merchandised-search-7&pf_rd_r=NPDTBH2AE98B3Y8ZZ0N4&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=051aa4c5-9e54-481b-8a83-a79f38fa50d3&pf_rd_i=14156834031

---

Author Details

---

 Ashish Rajendran | PGDM (IM) | 2019-21

-----	--------

---