Talk to Me

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.