In the Future, We Will All Talk to Computers

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The Next Frontier

As interesting as it is to see where this is today, what really gets me excited is where this type of technology can go.

For some, the idea of a computer being able to actually learn personal things about us is scary. I however, tend to think this is the first key step in having personal computers move from personal to truly personalized devices.

(MORE: When Your Gadgets Get to Know You: The Future of ‘Personalized’ Computing)

For example: What if, in the future, Siri doesn’t need to wait for me to initiate contact in order to be useful?

Imagine I am in Palo Alto for a meeting that ends at noon. Siri could look at my calendar, see I have no lunch plans and, using the artificial intelligence, it would conclude that since my meeting ends at noon I will probably be hungry.

So upon my meeting ending, Siri would say, “It is lunch time; you should be hungry. There are three Mexican restaurants with good reviews close to your location. Would you like to read the reviews?” Knowing I like a good burrito, Siri would present me with the best choices. I could then quickly scan the reviews, choose which location to eat at, and Siri would give me directions.

An added layer of value would be if Siri could then also see that my friend Ken is nearby in Palo Alto and doesn’t have lunch plans, and then recommend we meet at the chosen Mexican restaurant. In this scenario, the computer would actually be reaching out to me for interaction—being proactively helpful rather than waiting for me to initiate the communication.

This is what I believe will happen as our devices become more personalized—as we allow our devices to know more about us so they can predict or anticipate key things and present them to us.

This is why Apple is positioning Siri more like a personal assistant than a voice dictation feature. We are literally just scratching the surface with this technology but I truly believe that this type of voice comprehension is the next major man-to-machine user interface.

MORE: The 10 Most Memorable Apple Commercials

Ben Bajarin is the Director of Consumer Technology Analysis and Research at Creative Strategies, Inc, a technology industry analysis and market intelligence firm located in Silicon Valley.

Read more about the life and legacy of Steve Jobs in the tribute book from TIME—Steve Jobs: The Genius Who Changed Our World

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