Ben Dixon's prediction regarding voice assistants requiring a visual
component is exactly why I'm interested in the progress (or lack
thereof) at Amazon. The company has tied their voice assistant to many
products with interfaces for TV, wired and wireless doorbells and
cameras. The doorbells and cameras especially require either a smart
phone or an Amazon Show and the TVs obviously require a TV.
Blind and visually impaired users of Alexa might just have the edge
using voice assistants; we have lived, in many cases, without a visual
component. Thus, we can quickly understand the value and uses of such
assistants and can teach, without even meaning to, our sighted peers
how to make the best uses of them. For example, my wife loves music,
but only when and where she wants it. When I got an Echo Dot for the
kitchen she has found listening to music easy either on the internet
radio or Amazon music. She still uses a windup timer though; I have
never suggested using Alexa for that and so, she doesn't think of it
and does not want to spend time reading about what uses there are that
she may want or need to use. There is no real literature, either
printed or electronic that is simple and direct regarding Alexa's
uses.
I sometimes wonder how many individuals actually know the full value
of Alexa; Amazon's instructions and help are lacking clarity and
examples; there is a weekly email about using the Alexa service but it
is often focused on silly things like jokes or gags. Not saying jokes
aren't great but I am saying that some literature about the average
person's possible useful interactions might be a valuable piece for
Amazon. How many people who don't need a voice assistant even know
they can shop using Alexa?
Just a batch of thoughts ...
Thanks for your responses, I'm happy to see any others.
On 11/29/22, David Goldfield <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I'm honestly not surprised to learn that these voice assistants aren't
> making money for their manufacturers. What does surprise me is that it took
> Amazon seven years to admit it. I would encourage you to read this article
> from
> TechTalks<Why%20Amazon%20Alexa%20(and%20other%20voice%20assistants)%20aren't%20making%20money>
> by Ben Dickson. It talks about why this has happened, what Amazon could do
> to fix it and the potential challenges associated with those potential
> solutions. I don't believe that the Alexa ecosystem is going to be
> demolished in the near future. Amazon still claims that they're committed to
> it but I predict that we will likely see less innovation in this space. As
> the article points out there may be a new type of voice assistant in our
> future which will not only be better than what we have but which will be
> robust enough to allow Amazon to make money from it.
>
>
>
> David Goldfield,
>
> Blindness Assistive Technology Specialist
>
>
>
> NVDA Certified Expert
>
>
>
> Subscribe to the Tech-VI announcement list to receive news, events and
> information regarding the blindness assistive technology field.
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> Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
>
> www.DavidGoldfield.org<http://www.DavidGoldfield.org>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List
> <[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>> On Behalf Of
> Rachel
> Sent: Tuesday, November 29, 2022 12:18 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] Alexa?
>
>
>
> In addition to listening to music and asking for the weather on Alexa, I ask
> for definitions of words, ask general kinds of questions, and also ask for
> translation of words in different languages. I love Alexa and will miss it
> greatly if it goes away.
>
> Rachel
>
>
>
>
>
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