The Evolution of Google Assistant: Making AI More Approachable

As we continue to integrate AI into our daily lives, it's essential to consider how we interact with these intelligent systems. The team behind Google Assistant is aware of the potential risks and consequences of creating a culture where people speak to AI in a certain way. This concern is rooted in the infamous Max Headroom hysteria, a fictional AI character that became popular in the 80s and was often imitated by children, leading to fears about raising a generation of stutterers.

Google's approach to mitigating this issue is through its new feature called "Pretty Please." Introduced at Google I/O 2018, Pretty Please aims to encourage users, especially children, to use proper manners when speaking with AI. The feature works by politely asking users to say "please" before making a request. For instance, if you ask the assistant to play music, it will respond with "You forgot to say please." However, Google has not implemented reprimanding or penalties for users who are rude to the assistant.

Another significant update to Google Assistant is its ability to create and manage lists. Users can now use voice commands like "Hey Google, create a shopping list" and then add items like "milk" or "eggs." The system uses an in-built provider for lists, but third-party integration with apps like Todoist and Any.do will be available soon. This feature enhances the user experience by allowing individuals to easily manage their tasks and reminders.

In addition to creating and managing lists, Google Assistant now also supports broadcasts. This feature enables users to communicate with their household through their smart speakers, and eventually, broadcasts expanded to other home products and smart speakers. One of the most exciting features of broadcasts is that users can reply to messages using their keyboard on their phone. This allows for a makeshift text messaging system, which can be particularly useful when working in a kitchen with limited hands-free capabilities.

Google Assistant's ability to respond to broadcasts also extends to its capacity to easily reply to messages. Users can create and send broadcast texts using their voice, which their recipients can read and respond to as well. This feature is designed to make communication more convenient and accessible for everyone.

While Google's updates to Google Assistant are significant, it's essential to acknowledge that these improvements come from the team's efforts to mitigate potential cultural issues. By developing features like Pretty Please and broadcasts, Google is taking a proactive approach to making AI more approachable and user-friendly. The company recognizes that AI systems have the potential to influence our behavior and values, and by doing so, it's creating a more positive experience for users.

Incident Management: The Unsung Heroes of Software Development

Behind every successful software development project lies a team of unsung heroes who work tirelessly to ensure its success. In the case of Google Assistant, its developers are responsible for implementing various features that make the AI system more user-friendly and efficient. One such tool is Ops Jeanie, which helps minimize downtime by empowering developers and operations teams to plan for service disruptions.

Ops Jeanie is designed to provide deep flexibility in alert deployment, taking into account factors like time zones and holidays. This allows for more effective communication and ensures that critical alerts are delivered promptly, even in complex situations. With Ops Jeanie's support, the development team can focus on creating innovative features like Pretty Please and broadcasts without worrying about the technical aspects.

The Importance of Continuous Improvement

Google's approach to software development is centered around continuous improvement. The company recognizes that no project is ever complete, and there's always room for enhancement and refinement. By acknowledging the limitations and potential risks associated with AI systems, Google can proactively address these concerns through features like Pretty Please.

This commitment to continuous improvement also extends to its collaboration with other apps and services. Google keeps Todoist and Any.do in mind when developing new features, ensuring that users can seamlessly integrate their existing workflows with Google Assistant. By doing so, the company is creating a more cohesive experience for its users, one that's designed to make their lives easier and more efficient.

Getting Involved: Share Your Thoughts on Google Assistant

As we continue to explore the capabilities of Google Assistant, it's essential to share our thoughts and feedback with the development team. By doing so, we can help shape the future of AI systems like Google Assistant and ensure that they meet our expectations.

Whether you have suggestions for new features or concerns about existing ones, your input is invaluable. Share your experiences, ask questions, and provide feedback through various channels, including comments, Twitter, or even by sharing this article with others. By working together, we can create a more inclusive and user-friendly AI ecosystem that benefits everyone.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe Google assistant is getting easier to use even for the less AI inclined you know how I know that those who lead the Google AI team were kids of the 80s because I can see that they're trying to avoid the Max Headroom hysteria there's more because you are going to see it as well yes it yes it yes namely the max syndrome syndrome story you see Max Headroom was a fictional AI character that had a smart witted but stuttering and distorted electronic voice here's how it works ready good during one of my my early broadcasts in the film I made a little joke first it was a movie then it was a television show and it became so popular that many kids began to copy the way Max Headroom spoke and there was lots of talk and fear in the media about raising a whole generation of stutterers you see Google knows that we've become accustomed to speaking to Google assistant in a certain way and imagine when AI is just ubiquitous everywhere and people learn to speak to AI in a certain way we don't want that to influence our culture to such an extent that we begin to speak to our teachers and our grandparents and our loved ones that way I understand that how much of it is a real fear I don't know but Google is thinking ahead and that's why they've come up with Google pretty please Google actually revealed pretty please to us in Google i/o 2018 but it's only now that we're seeing it in the wild the point of pretty please is simple to encourage people especially children to be polite and use proper manners when speaking with AI hey Google talk to voice Ron how do you forgot to say please okay Google he told me Ettore thanks for saying please play from dance please what a nice way to ask me however Google will not reprimand your child or you if you are rude to the assistant at least not yet you can also now use the Google assistant voice commands to create and update lists just say hey Google create a shopping lists then you say things like hey Google add milk to my shopping list or hey Google what's on my shopping list right now the system uses a built in provider for lists but eventually third party integration will be possible with Google keep todoist and any do the Google assistant will also allow you to broadcast replies Google introduced broadcasts as a way to communicate with your household through your Google home smart speakers eventually broadcasts expanded to other home products as well as smart speakers and very soon google allow you to easily reply to broadcasts the cool thing with broadcast replies is that you can use your keyboard on your phone if you like creating a makeshift text messaging system granted you might find it easier just to text someone but if you're working hard in the kitchen and your hands are full you can send a broadcast text using your voice which your recipients can read and reply to with their own text so what do you guys think I know that these are just small updates and improvements but Google wins and dominates by incremental steps let me know in the comments below or on Twitter you know what software starts do things it's not supposed to do who solves those problems it's the unsung heroes our developer teams in fact it's called incident management and our beloved sponsor today ops Jeanie is just for them op Jeanie helps us minimize downtime which is critical for our customer experience ops Jeanie empowers devs and ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents it helps notify all the right people through a smart combination of scheduling an escalation paths that take into account things like time zones and holidays it allows for deep flexibility and how and when and where alerts are deployed and supported by over 200 integrations with ops Jeanie your next incident doesn't stand a chance go to ops Jeanie comm and sign up to get a free company account and add up to five team members that oops Jeannie calm never miss a critical it alert again with ops Jeannie bonsoirthe Google assistant is getting easier to use even for the less AI inclined you know how I know that those who lead the Google AI team were kids of the 80s because I can see that they're trying to avoid the Max Headroom hysteria there's more because you are going to see it as well yes it yes it yes namely the max syndrome syndrome story you see Max Headroom was a fictional AI character that had a smart witted but stuttering and distorted electronic voice here's how it works ready good during one of my my early broadcasts in the film I made a little joke first it was a movie then it was a television show and it became so popular that many kids began to copy the way Max Headroom spoke and there was lots of talk and fear in the media about raising a whole generation of stutterers you see Google knows that we've become accustomed to speaking to Google assistant in a certain way and imagine when AI is just ubiquitous everywhere and people learn to speak to AI in a certain way we don't want that to influence our culture to such an extent that we begin to speak to our teachers and our grandparents and our loved ones that way I understand that how much of it is a real fear I don't know but Google is thinking ahead and that's why they've come up with Google pretty please Google actually revealed pretty please to us in Google i/o 2018 but it's only now that we're seeing it in the wild the point of pretty please is simple to encourage people especially children to be polite and use proper manners when speaking with AI hey Google talk to voice Ron how do you forgot to say please okay Google he told me Ettore thanks for saying please play from dance please what a nice way to ask me however Google will not reprimand your child or you if you are rude to the assistant at least not yet you can also now use the Google assistant voice commands to create and update lists just say hey Google create a shopping lists then you say things like hey Google add milk to my shopping list or hey Google what's on my shopping list right now the system uses a built in provider for lists but eventually third party integration will be possible with Google keep todoist and any do the Google assistant will also allow you to broadcast replies Google introduced broadcasts as a way to communicate with your household through your Google home smart speakers eventually broadcasts expanded to other home products as well as smart speakers and very soon google allow you to easily reply to broadcasts the cool thing with broadcast replies is that you can use your keyboard on your phone if you like creating a makeshift text messaging system granted you might find it easier just to text someone but if you're working hard in the kitchen and your hands are full you can send a broadcast text using your voice which your recipients can read and reply to with their own text so what do you guys think I know that these are just small updates and improvements but Google wins and dominates by incremental steps let me know in the comments below or on Twitter you know what software starts do things it's not supposed to do who solves those problems it's the unsung heroes our developer teams in fact it's called incident management and our beloved sponsor today ops Jeanie is just for them op Jeanie helps us minimize downtime which is critical for our customer experience ops Jeanie empowers devs and ops teams to plan for service disruptions and stay in control during incidents it helps notify all the right people through a smart combination of scheduling an escalation paths that take into account things like time zones and holidays it allows for deep flexibility and how and when and where alerts are deployed and supported by over 200 integrations with ops Jeanie your next incident doesn't stand a chance go to ops Jeanie comm and sign up to get a free company account and add up to five team members that oops Jeannie calm never miss a critical it alert again with ops Jeannie bonsoir\n"