A few decades ago, if someone would’ve told you devices like Amazon Echo and Google Home would become common household products, you probably wouldn’t have believed them. But, this is a different time, and these days, we expect a lot from our tech. As a virtual assistant, Alexa has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. In the few short years since she came on the market, she’s added new skills like calling and texting and a routines feature. However, Alexa is not yet a complete A.I. virtual assistant.
The truth of the matter is, although Alexa has a wide variety of skills, she can’t hold a real conversation. She’s no good if you ask her questions that involve a slightly more advanced internet search. In the future, we’d like to see Alexa have a few key A.I. capabilities that will elevate her from a speaker to an independent assistant who relies less on basic human commands and more on her own intelligence and intuitive abilities.
Here are a few things Alexa can’t do yet, but if implemented would take her to the level of true A.I. assistant.
Hold a real conversation
Today, you can talk to your Alexa-powered assistant, but you can’t really converse. Imagine if you could talk to Alexa about your day, and she could provide you with feedback, say advice on what to do in a certain situation. Or imagine you could have Alexa read you a recipe as you cook in the kitchen, and you could tell her to “hold on just a second, I’m still boiling the water,” and Alexa could reply with “OK, let me know when you’re done, and I’ll tell you the next step in the recipe.”
