These three virtual assistants point the way to the future

We all need a little help sometimes. After all, what are cloud-based, artificially intelligent software agents for? By now we're all familiar with the usual suspects: Siri, Google Now, Cortana, and Alexa. They introduced most of us to the idea of talking to, rather than via, a phone, computer, or home appliance. But let's face it: These virtual assistants have become boring, banal commodities.