The brave new world of voicebots in the home

Aldous Huxley claimed that "most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted." While Huxley wasn't writing about voice-assisted devices, his understanding of our propensity to cheerlead new technology without fully acknowledging what we sacrifice perfectly captures the new world of voice interfaces ushered in by Amazon's Echo and Google Home. Scientific advancement is valued in a world fueled by willful ignorance and collective complacency about what's being left behind. Although published in the early 1930s, his book raises questions that are still important. Considering the evolution of voice-based smart home devices, it's worth asking: What exactly are we getting into here?