All articles tagged with #digital assistants
The article provides steps to prevent Google from saving audio recordings from your interactions with its services, enhancing your privacy. It explains how to disable the voice and audio activity setting in your Google account and how to delete previously saved recordings. Additionally, it offers guidance on managing microphone permissions for apps on both iPhone and Android devices.
Amazon plans to release a generative AI version of Alexa later this year, which will require a separate monthly subscription fee. The new Alexa aims to be more conversational and advanced, competing with AI technologies like OpenAI's ChatGPT-4 Omni and Google's Gemini 1.5. The estimated cost is around $20 per month, and the upgrade is part of Amazon's strategy to revitalize Alexa, which has seen declining interest and revenue.
Amazon is reportedly planning to supercharge its digital assistant Alexa with AI and charge users for the privilege of using it, in an effort to make the service profitable. However, the new Alexa, tentatively called "Alexa Plus," is facing challenges with its AI technology, leading to doubts among Amazon employees about its success. The initiative is a response to pressure to generate revenue from smart assistants, as companies like Google and Apple have struggled to do so. If successful, the plan could turn Alexa into a money maker, but if it fails, it could bring the digital assistant closer to obsolescence.
Researchers from Stanford University and the University of Toronto have developed an algorithmic method to identify alcohol intoxication with 98% accuracy by analyzing speech patterns. Participants in the study were served vodka gimlets and asked to read tongue-twisters every hour for seven hours. The speech samples were analyzed using an algorithm that examined spectral and frequency-based voice features. While the results are promising, the study is still in the proof-of-concept stage and requires further research and validation. Privacy concerns and public acceptance of such technology also need to be addressed before it can be implemented in real-world scenarios.
Google is bringing generative artificial intelligence (AI) to its Google Assistant, which powers Google's Home, Auto, and mobile software. This move marks the beginning of the true digital assistant wars. Google aims to replicate the conversational quality of popular chatbot Chat GPT and its own software algorithm, Google Duplex, which mimics a personal assistant. By integrating generative AI into its Assistant, Google has the potential to transform the digital assistant experience on billions of devices and disrupt its native digital advertising model. Investors should consider the long-term potential of a powerful and valuable digital assistant that could supplant the advertising model over time.
The author expresses excitement for Google Assistant with Bard, a new feature that integrates AI capabilities into the digital assistant. They highlight the potential for Bard to enhance various tasks, such as looking up information, creating lists, and using Google Lens features. The author hopes that Assistant with Bard will eventually be available on Chromebooks and suggests that Google should also focus on improving smart home hardware.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg showcased new artificial intelligence tools, digital assistants, and hardware including the Quest 3 virtual reality headset and Ray-Ban smart glasses at the company's Connect conference. The AI software allows users to generate digital stickers and edit photos using written prompts, while the Meta AI digital assistant, similar to ChatGPT, can access Bing search engine for real-time information. Meta has partnered with celebrities to represent digital characters, and users will eventually be able to create their own digital assistants. Zuckerberg emphasized the importance of AI in the development of the metaverse and highlighted the integration of AI in the new Ray-Ban smart glasses.
Cybersecurity expert Tom Gaffney warns against using certain popular apps due to privacy concerns. He advises against using digital assistants like Alexa, which listen to snippets of your voice and process them in data centers far from your home. Gaffney also cautions against using Uber, WhatsApp, Zoom, certain photo editing apps, and weather apps like Accuweather and Clime, which track your location and sell your data to advertisers. Companies like Uber, Meta (formerly Facebook), and Amazon claim to prioritize data protection and privacy.
Researchers have discovered a new technique called Near-Ultrasound Inaudible Trojan (NUIT) that can be used to silently take control of phones, smart speakers, or any device with a digital assistant. NUIT plays sounds in the near-ultrasound frequency range (16kHz-20kHz) to give voice commands to smart devices, some commands take less than a second to play. The attack was tested on digital assistants including Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant, and Siri. The researchers will present more details about the study at the USENIX Security Symposium in August.