![]() ![]() In addition, Facebook has used this feature to help blind users identify people in their feeds. There are around 285 million people in the world with visual impairments of some sort, and many have already been helped by the introduction of this new technology to unlock their phones with ease. Children on the spectrum can use facial recognition to learn how to differentiate the moods and meanings of others’ behaviour. While the idea of mapping faces and recognising images is definitely dangerous ground, facial recognition can actually be very helpful for a variety of people. These comparisons can be made to almost all creepy technology that toes over the line of making people uncomfortable, but also opens up the possibility to truly help them.įacial recognition is another example of an accessibility-forward feature. Impactful to many, a convenience for more, and inclusive for all. If we approach Assistant Calling with accessibility in mind, technology like this is less scary and deeply more impactful. Assistant Calling, for example, will actually help people who have difficulty hearing, have social anxiety, are not native speakers, among other things. ![]() ![]() However, what if we flip it, as an industry? What if we approach each and every one of these technologies with accessibility as a forethought and not an afterthought? Necessity is the mother of invention and I wonder if we have had that backwards, creating technology and innovation because we can and not often asking what is the greatest necessity and purpose for it. But, in the service of convenience, we are inadvertently garnering inclusivity and accessibility for others. Or is merely built for trivial convenience. While I’m still on the wary side, I am definitely open to looking at this from other points of view.Īssistant Calling is the latest in a long line of 'futuristic' technology that seems to bring more flash than substance. That’s when my view on Assistant Calling softened. Another user replied that there are millions out there for whom simple phone calls are terribly hard to make. An acquaintance tweeted that these new AI calls will help no one and that trust in systems like this is detrimental to society. I watched a (surprisingly) thoughtful debate take place on Twitter. And then there were the pessimists: “Being human feels very unnecessary now.” “So, now we’re robocalling each other?” “I’m going to feel really duped when I figure out I’m not talking to a person.” “How long till our robots are just calling each other?”. There was the optimistic group: “That was an amazing demo!” “I couldn’t tell who the human was” “I can’t wait to use this” “Think of all the possibilities”. Developers, designers, and even just plain-old users of technology consistently fell into two tracts. At the same time, I searched Twitter to see more reactions. In Shoreline, the reactions were palpable an audible “Ooooh” and then a much quieter, slightly uncomfortable, “Wow” went up collectively from the audience.ĭuring the I/O sessions that followed that notable demo, I asked other attendees what they thought about the Assistant’s new human-like capability. The interaction demos were impressive and very uncanny of the valley. On stage using Wavenet to generate more human-like voices and inflection along with the powerful Google Duplex system, the Assistant called businesses to set up all sorts of appointments and even made dinner reservations. One of the most impressive demonstrations came when Sundar Pichai showcased the new Google Assistant Calling feature. The Google I/O keynote, similar to last year, showcased the strides made in the last 365-ish days on Google’s impressive Machine Learning software applications, which have advanced everything from Google Maps and Photos, to Google Assistant and Waymo self-driving cars. lang, Bruce Springsteen, and many others have performed, tech took centre stage. Recently in Mountain View, California, at the Shoreline Amphitheatre where Pearl Jam, k.d. ![]()
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