When Amazon debuted its virtual assistant Alexa along with its first line of smart speakers in 2014, the public response was divided. While some were intrigued by the idea of having a virtual assistant at their service, others thought that the prospect of voluntarily installing a listening device in their home sounded like something from George Orwell’s “1984”.
And while the latter group appeared to be in the majority back then, Alexa and smart speakers in general quickly turned out to be a huge success, and six years later, most of the initial privacy concerns no longer seem to matter.
Meanwhile Alexa has learned a lot over the years, and apart from acquiring some gimmicky skills, it has evolved into the leading voice platform in the world, serving as a voice interface for thousands of smart home devices. According to Amazon’s latest announcement, Alexa can control more than 100,000 smart home devices from 9,500 brands. Here’s to hoping she doesn’t turn against humankind.
