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Talk to me : how voice computing will transform the way we live, work, and think / James Vlahos.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019Description: xvi, 320 pages ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781328799302
  • 1328799301
  • 9781328606716
  • 1328606716
Subject(s): Summary: "A New York Times Magazine writer explores the Next Big Thing in tech--the impending revolution in voice recognition--and shows how it will upend Silicon Valley and transform how we use computers, the Web, and much more.Every decade or so brings a seismic shift in how people interact with tech, from the PC to the internet to the smartphone. James Vlahos shows that we are on the cusp of the next shift: to voice computing. Siri and Alexa are early forms of this technology, but the day is coming when we'll talk as fluently with our phones, appliances, cars, etc. as we do with any human. Vlahos explains the enormous AI challenges that voice computing presents, and unpacks its vast economic, cultural, and psychological impact. He reveals how Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other titans are competing fiercely to create the new voice-driven interfaces. Amazon has devoted an entire secret building to their efforts, and other companies are making similarly huge plays. Vlahos doesn't shy away from the troubling questions that voice computing raises. Will people become emotionally dependent on lifelike computers? Will we confide in them in ways that further erode our privacy? Will they deepen our addiction to all things digital? We are on the verge of a transformation as big as the iPhone. Talk to Me will help us get ready."-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 006.2483 V865 Available 33111009137007
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

**To chat with the author, ask your Alexa device to "open the voice computing book."**

The next great technological disruption is coming

The titans of Silicon Valley are racing to build the last, best computer that the world will ever need. They know that whoever successfully creates it will revolutionize our relationship with technology--and make billions of dollars in the process. They call it conversational AI.

Computers that can speak and think like humans may seem like the stuff of science fiction, but they are rapidly moving toward reality. In Talk to Me , veteran tech journalist James Vlahos meets the researchers at Amazon, Google, and Apple who are leading the way. He explores how voice tech will transform every sector of society: handing untold new powers to businesses, overturning traditional notions of privacy, upending how we access information, and fundamentally altering the way we understand human consciousness. And he even tries to understand the significance of the voice-computing revolution first-hand -- by building a chatbot version of his terminally ill father.

Vlahos's research leads him to one fundamental question: What happens when our computers become as articulate, compassionate, and creative as we are?

"A New York Times Magazine writer explores the Next Big Thing in tech--the impending revolution in voice recognition--and shows how it will upend Silicon Valley and transform how we use computers, the Web, and much more.Every decade or so brings a seismic shift in how people interact with tech, from the PC to the internet to the smartphone. James Vlahos shows that we are on the cusp of the next shift: to voice computing. Siri and Alexa are early forms of this technology, but the day is coming when we'll talk as fluently with our phones, appliances, cars, etc. as we do with any human. Vlahos explains the enormous AI challenges that voice computing presents, and unpacks its vast economic, cultural, and psychological impact. He reveals how Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and other titans are competing fiercely to create the new voice-driven interfaces. Amazon has devoted an entire secret building to their efforts, and other companies are making similarly huge plays. Vlahos doesn't shy away from the troubling questions that voice computing raises. Will people become emotionally dependent on lifelike computers? Will we confide in them in ways that further erode our privacy? Will they deepen our addiction to all things digital? We are on the verge of a transformation as big as the iPhone. Talk to Me will help us get ready."-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages [287]-307) and index.

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