Yet there is an inherent appeal to the devices, too-one beyond mere consumerism. Her voice emanates from more than 100 third-party gadgets, including headphones, security systems, and automobiles. Alexa alone already works with more than 20,000 smart-home devices representing more than 3,500 brands.
The company that succeeds in cornering the smart-speaker market will lock appliance manufacturers, app designers, and consumers into its ecosystem of devices and services, just as Microsoft tethered the personal-computer industry to its operating system in the 1990s. In the near future, everything from your lighting to your air-conditioning to your refrigerator, your coffee maker, and even your toilet could be wired to a system controlled by voice. These and other tech corporations have grand ambitions.
One reason is that Amazon and Google are pushing these devices hard, discounting them so heavily during last year’s holiday season that industry observers suspect that the companies lost money on each unit sold. Alexa and her ilk may get there in less than half that time. It took about 30 years for mobile phones to outnumber humans. By 2021, according to another research firm, Ovum, there will be almost as many voice-activated assistants on the planet as people. According to a 2018 report by National Public Radio and Edison Research, 8 million Americans own three or more smart speakers, suggesting that they feel the need to always have one within earshot. Based on current sales, Canalys estimates that this figure will reach 100 million by the end of this year. Amazon doesn’t disclose exact figures, but when I asked how many Echo devices have been sold, a spokeswoman said “tens of millions.” By the end of last year, more than 40 million smart speakers had been installed worldwide, according to Canalys, a technology-research firm. Privacy concerns have not stopped the march of these devices into our homes, however. The explanation did not make me feel much better.
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Amazon explained that Alexa must have been awakened by a word that sounded like Alexa ( Texas? A Lexus? Praxis?), then misconstrued elements of the ensuing conversation as a series of commands. Nonetheless, every so often weird glitches occur, like the time Alexa recorded a family’s private conversation without their having said the wake word and emailed the recording to an acquaintance on their contacts list. The speakers’ manufacturers promise that only speech that follows the wake word is archived in the cloud, and Amazon and Google, at least, make deleting those exchanges easy enough. By 2021, there will be almost as many personal-assistant bots on the planet as people. Their microphones listen even when you’re not interacting with them, because they have to be able to hear their “wake word,” the command that snaps them to attention and puts them at your service. Smart speakers are yet another way for companies to keep tabs on our searches and purchases. Cynics of every age suspect their virtual assistants of eavesdropping, and not without reason.
And when I say “all,” I know some readers will think, Speak for yourself! Friends my age-we’re the last of the Baby Boomers-tell me they have no desire to talk to a computer or have a computer talk to them. When I say “smart,” I mean the speakers possess artificial intelligence, can conduct basic conversations, and are hooked up to the internet, which allows them to look stuff up and do things for you. We’re all falling for Alexa, unless we’re falling for Google Assistant, or Siri, or some other genie in a smart speaker.
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