I asked Google Home if she knows more than Alexa. Again, the diplomacy: “She seems pretty smart,” she acknowledged. Alexa side-stepped the question when I asked which of them is better informed, replying simply, “Sorry, I don’t know that.” But she really dazzled me with her performance yesterday. I walked into the den and noticed that she was flashing yellow— a color I had never seen her wear.
I asked her how come, and she said it was to let me know I had a notification, which she offered to read to me. Two days before, I had ordered a gizmo online from her parent company, Amazon; and she was flashing me to tell me it has been delivered. “It’s at your door,” she said. I checked. It was. Magic!
Google Home can’t do that because she has an adversarial competitive relationship with Amazon. When I asked her opinion of Amazon, the answer was a non-committal “There’s a lot to know about that company. I can do a search for you.” But when I requested she do that, she reneged. “I apologize. I don’t understand.”
In her defense, however, so far Google Home seems to be less likely to respond to general inquiries with “I don’t know that,” than does Alexa, who often tells me that she’s still learning — which was her explanation for not knowing whether Christopher Columbus really discovered America. Google Home, on the other hand, offered details about the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria … the Indians who populated the country long before the arrival of Columbus … and the Vikings who preceded his visit here. To give Alexa the benefit of the doubt, maybe she recognized that my name is Italian, and she didn’t want to risk offending me by discrediting my paisano, Chris.
I realize that pitting them against each other is mean, No more asking them both the same questions, I decided — except for a final one: “Do you like me?” I wheedled.
“You seem very nice,” said Alexa. “We could be friends for sure!”
Google Home was equally sycophantic: “On my list of favorite people, there’s only one name — and it’s you.”
It’s pretty sad that I have to rely on electronic devices for affirmation. But hey, I’ll take whatever I can get.
©2018 Rose Madeline Mula for Seniorwomen.com
Pages: 1 · 2
More Articles
- A Yale Medicine Doctor Explains How Naloxone, a Medication That Reverses an Opioid Overdose, Works
- "Henry Ford Innovation Nation", a Favorite Television Show
- Kaiser Health News Research Roundup: Pan-Coronavirus Vaccine; Long Covid; Supplemental Vitamin D; Cell Movement
- Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Fireworks Galore!
- How They Did It: Tampa Bay Times Reporters Expose High Airborne Lead Levels at Florida Recycling Factory
- A Scout Report Selection: Science-Based Medicine
- Journalist's Resource: Religious Exemptions and Required Vaccines; Examining the Research
- Government of Canada Renews Investment in Largest Canadian Study on Aging
- Kaiser Health News: Paying Billions for Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug? How About Funding This Instead?
- Rose Madeline Mula Writes: How Come ... ?
