Making a Voice Assistant a Life Coach -- and What That Means for AI - Moonshot

We're all familiar with the ways in which voice assistants like Siri and Alexa have become a staple of household life: harried cooks everywhere can relate to the question, "Alexa, how many tablespoons are in a cup?" But recent developments point to voice assistants doing more than answering straightforward questions. Technologies like Google Assistant can actually offer life advice. And according to researchers from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, it doesn't hurt to listen: they've done a study that indicates embracing life coaching from a voice assistant can improve well-being. What does that mean for AI? Human life coaches help people pinpoint their priorities and goals in life, from professional to personal, then work to identify what steps individuals can take to achieve those goals.