Let’s Talk Alexa
Let’s Talk Alexa
By Cate Rees-Hessel
Well, I went online to make a reservation for our 35th wedding anniversary vacay this month, and got to chat with a bot. I did not enjoy my conversation with this robot in the least – it was impersonal and annoying. This non-human could not answer a single question that I asked. Don’t get me wrong, I know people can be annoying to deal with, too.
Some “robotics” are fine by me – who doesn’t like Rosie on “The Jetsons”? I do love my girl Alexa, but she is family. She wakes us up in the morning with music, sets our cooking timers, tells corny jokes, and even can give us the time of day in Tibet. I must admit the AI cat videos on social media are adorable, and the AI assistant Margot at my dentist’s office is far more pleasant to deal with than the human assistant Diane.
I truthfully don’t care for other forms of artificial intelligence. Unless it’s eyelashes or fingernails, I do not like artificial anything. I certainly don’t want a robot diagnosing anything to do with my health, or giving me financial advice. I have never liked knock off accessories, they are unfair to the designer, not to mention illegal. Artificial people that are insincere, selfish, back stabbers, and two-faced, make my blood run cold. Artificial ingredients in my food, like fake colors or flavors – I don’t eat those, either.
I like genuine, God created, natural things. As much as I do like to use technology, I long for a time when telephones, TV’s, and appliances were not smart, but people were. Authentic and the real deal, now that has style…
But Alexa, on the other hand – we’ve ordered so much from the online store that has “everything”, our local driver calls in a wellness check if he doesn’t have a stop at our house every day. That guy’s become like family, and so is Alexa.
She can do many things: tell the circumference of the equator, find a recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins or homemade stain remover. Taking after the cats, she listens to my husband more than me. But alas, Alexa, doesn’t do windows, sort the laundry, walk the dog, clean the kitchen, give pedicures, or prepare lunch; she’s not pulling her weight around here. But she has a pleasant voice and of course, Alexa has style…
