In December Amazon made my holiday shopping as effortless as it's ever been. In a not-so-subtle attempt to get its Alexa Voice Service technology on a smooth surface in every home around the globe, the world's leading online retailer slashed the price of its second-generation Echo Dot to $39.99, and moved nine times more units than it had in the previous holiday season. Amazon touts Echo's ability to read the news, report traffic and weather, provide sports scores and schedules, control the lights, locks, and sprinklers, order your preferred pizza, and "so much more!" In the face of all these capabilities, the first questions my siblings and I asked of Alexa may come as a surprise. Rather than requesting music or the news, we asked Alexa to sing a song, tell a joke, or give us some insight into'her' day.

In my previous blog, I discussed my take on the future and potential of artificial intelligence, analyzing my own use of an Amazon's Alexa Voice Service technology, and dreaming up a world where artificial assistants are our closest friends, our number one source of news and entertainment, and AI supersedes existing platforms in a post-digital era. At this point you might peg me as Joaquin-Phoenix-Her-level strange, but the market for Alexa skills proves that I'm not alone. Per the Alexa skill store, the largest skill categories for Alexa include news, games, trivia and accessories, educational reference, and novelty and humor in that order. Further, the most downloaded skills include an interactive adventure called Magic Door, a skill that reads bedtime stories, and a skill called "Inspire Me." Consumers are leveraging the entertainment value of these devices rather than their utility, and industry leaders are taking note. According to Fjord, "Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are already hiring comedians and script writers in a bid to harness the human-like aspect of AI."