Google Wants to Give Your Computer a Personality

Deep inside the Googleplex, a small group of writers is huddling around a whiteboard that is plastered with ideas. These read like notes-to-self that Jack Skellington might've made: "Halloween survival kit," "How to defeat monsters." "People did not like'smell my feet' last year," he says, laughing. "It was trick or treat, and one response was'smell my feet.' Germick has spent the afternoon bouncing between brainstorming meetings like this one, in which Googlers debate life's big questions, like whether the sound of a bubbling cauldron or distant howling is spookier. All of which is part of his job as principal personality designer for Google Assistant, the company's voice-activated helper found on a wide range of smartphones and its Home smart speaker, which first went on sale last fall. It's August, but Germick's team is grappling with what users might ask Google on Halloween and why. Or will they want to hear a seasonally appropriate joke?