Mitchell Elshot

No ratings yet.

In 2011 Apple introduced the world to a virtual assistant using natural language to communicate with the users (SmartSheet, 2019). This virtual assistant is called Siri and listens to voice queries of the users, responding with a kind robotic female voice. Users could initially use Siri for simple factual questions, or to ask funny questions like: “Siri, will you marry me?”, to which Siri would respond: “My End User Licensing Agreement does not cover marriage. My apologies.” (Haslam, 2017). Since the inception of Siri, multiple different voice assistants have entered the market, and they have been vastly improving over the years. Due to the ever-increasing network of internet-connected devices, the usability of virtual assistants has been improved. The virtual assistants can now turn on your television, dim the lights, or play your next song (SmartSheet, 2019). Although this is already an exciting development compared with the initial features, emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), could have an enormous impact on the further development of these virtual agents.

According to Gartner (Gartner, 2019) 20 billion smart connected IoT devices will be used around the world in 2020. This anticipated and immense network raises essential questions. How will all these devices all connect? How can they use each other’s information? Is the current network adequate to manage an interconnected IoT network? Currently, IoT devices are only connected within a particular home/business network. The applications are lacking the ability to utilize the information on the global network. Due to this lack, the potential synergies of the global IoT network are not utilized. Fortunately, where there are gaps, there are opportunities.

Fetch.Ai

An example of an innovative company trying to fill this gap is Fetch.Ai. This blockchain-based company is creating a decentralized environment that combines infrastructures with ecosystems, or rather “ecostructures”. These ecostructures enable IoT devices to communicate seamlessly, autonomously, and securely in real-time. Fetch.Ai uses three key components to utilize the growing IoT network (Weeks, 2018). Firstly, by using blockchain, they lever the decentralized web and ensure scalability. Secondly, they use a search system to allow IoT devices to interact and negotiate with each other. Lastly, the IoT devices will be used as autonomous economic agents who will drive the IoT network.

Usability

But, what does this have to do with Siri? Garnet predicts that by 2022, 50% of all ecosystems will use virtual assistants to interact more naturally with their surroundings and users (Gartner, 2019). However, they notice that the current infrastructure is not sufficient enough to utilize the possibilities of this network. By using Fetch.Ai virtual assistants can optimize various operations, such as route planning, and interact more naturally in a conversational way (Fetch.Ai, 2019). Also, reservations can be made using a virtual assistant where Fetch.Ai can facilitate in the negotiation of prices with restaurants, shifting the current business model to a more personal one.

Is this the future?

Virtual assistants could be so intertwined in our digital world that future generations cannot imagine a world where devices do not communicate with people and with each other. What do you think? Are Alexa and Siri our future right-hands, negotiating even our salaries? Or is a decentralized global network with autonomous agents a utopia?

Ciligot, C. (2019). 7 Key Predictions For The Future Of Voice Assistants And AI [Blog post] | Clearbridge. Retrieved 7 October 2019, from https://clearbridgemobile.com/7-key-predictions-for-the-future-of-voice-assistants-and-ai/

Fetch.Ai. (2019). Intelligent Autonomous Agents Optimize Vehicle Journeys LIVE | Use Case | Blockchain AI | Fetch.AI. Retrieved 7 October 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvUFchxbBOQ

Haslam, K. (2019). Have a giggle with Siri. Retrieved 7 October 2019, from https://www.macworld.co.uk/feature/iphone/funny-things-siri-3656639/

SmartSheet. (2019). How Voice Assistants Are Changing Our Lives [Blog post] | Smartsheet. Retrieved 7 October 2019, from https://www.smartsheet.com/voice-assistants-artificial-intelligence

Weeks, M. (2018). The Evolution and Design of Digital Economies. Retrieved from https://fetch.ai/uploads/Fetch.AI-Economics-white-paper.pdf

5/5 (9)

Iron man and Vasili Arkhipov. Only one of them is worldfamous. Also, only one of them is a brave man with nerves of steel, who has saved the world from, arguably, the most devastating war in human history. Vasili Arkhipov was the only Soviet officer, out of three, who decided not to launch a nuclear torpedo to the U.S. navy (for a short backstory, go to the end). Many people believe that this decision solely prevented World War III in 1962. What makes it even more frightening is that this decision would have been based on wrong assumptions. In short, this would have been a catastrophic mistake.

Making mistakes is part of being human. Throughout history, we have relied on a trial-and-error as our primary development mechanism. Without this mechanism, we might not have established the current level of technology. But, as our technologies become more powerful and autonomous, so does the need for them to be error-free. Currently, technologies have caused so few accidents that they are outweighed by their benefits. However, as we continue to develop more powerful and autonomous technologies, we are also getting closer to the point that one accident can outweigh the benefits.

The rapid progress in the AI field makes thinking about the possible consequences even more important. Computer systems are known to crash and have bugs. AI systems, however, have to be robust for us to further integrate them into our world. Although making mistakes is part of our human DNA, making brave choices is also within all of us. What if the Soviet submarine in 1962 was autonomous and there was no human in the loop? What if an independent AI system acts on the wrong assumption and crashes the stock market? As our generation laying the foundation for the answers to these questions, it is essential to have conservations about these issues.

I believe that AI will become a crucial part of our future life, and hope that we as humans will always stay in the loop to be able to make brave choices such as Vasili Arkhipov.

Background story:
During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, a Soviet submarine entered international waters near outside the quarantine area of the U.S. Because the Americans were unable to make contact with the Soviet submarine, they decided to use small depth charges to force the submarine to surface. However, the U.S. navy was not aware of two crucial details. Firstly, the submarine was experiencing technical issues which led to a rise in the temperature past 45 degrees onboard. Secondly, the submarine crew was authorized to launch the nuclear torpedo that they carried without permission of the headquarters in Moscow. As the crew in the submarine was unaware of whether the potential World War III had already started, the majority of the team assumed the depth charges to be war declarations. To launch the nuclear torpedo, permission has to be granted of all three onboard officers. The only officer to deny the launch was Vasili Arkhipov.

Sources:

Ortega, P. (2019). Building safe artificial intelligence: specification, robustness, and assurance. [online] Medium. Available at: https://medium.com/@deepmindsafetyresearch/building-safe-artificial-intelligence-52f5f75058f1 [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].
Tegmark, M. (2018). Life 3.0. Amsterdam: Maven Publishing, pp.290–323.

YouTube. (2019). Secrets of the Dead: The Man Who Saved the World.. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VPY2SgyG5w [Accessed 10 Sep. 2019].

The future of Siri and Alexa

7

Please rate this

A (super)human in the loop

10

Please rate this