Why Voice Tech Will Be the Post-Crisis Standard -- and Not Just for Ordering Pizza

My kids, ages 8 and 5, are showing me the future. When I want to watch a movie or turn out the lights, I instinctively reach for the remote or flick a switch. My children find it far more natural to just ask Siri for Peppa Pig, or tell Alexa to darken the room. Why not just talk to the machines around us like we talk to each other? Of course, right now talking -- rather than touching -- also has serious safety upsides. Voice tech adoption has accelerated as the coronavirus pandemic makes everyone touchy about how sanitary it is to poke buttons and screens.