The Promises and Pitfalls of Voice as a UI

Between cross-platform politics (Apple vs. Amazon vs. Google) and the fact that voice control in consumer electronics is still nascent, the promise of a truly automated home is still sadly unrealized for the most part. However, there are plenty of easter eggs you can ask your Echo to entertain you with while you wait for Jeff Bezos to decide to play nice with Apple and Google (spoiler: he probably won't). I think it's neat that you can turn on pretty much anything throughout a house just by saying so out loud. I also think that voice should and will be the de facto method of interaction in the household by the end of this decade. In that regard, I have to thank Apple, Google, and Amazon for advancing the state of responsive AI.