These Are Not the Robots We Were Promised

From the moment we humans first imagined having mechanical servants at our beck and call, we've assumed they would be constructed in our own image. Outfitted with arms and legs, heads and torsos, they would perform everyday tasks that we'd otherwise have to do ourselves. Like the indefatigable maid Rosie on "The Jetsons," the officious droid C-3PO in "Star Wars" and the tortured "host" Dolores Abernathy in "Westworld," the robotic helpmates of popular culture have been humanoid in form and function. It's time to rethink our assumptions. A robot invasion of our homes is underway, but the machines -- so-called smart speakers like Amazon Echo, Google Home and the forthcoming Apple HomePod -- look nothing like what we expected.