While smitten by technology, I am not blinded by my love of gizmos. I am skeptical of allowing too much tech into my world. I prefer to be in charge of my machines, not the other way around. I realize that this is an uphill battle, especially having owned a boat. The loss of power or the internet can bring life to a halt. No heat. No lights. No refrigeration. No problem….No Netflix. Are you kidding? Call the National Guard. Like many, I am too dependent, but I do have my limits. Which brings me too Alexa.
Amazon’s poster child for Artificial Intelligence is quite the seductress. Want to hear a tune? Just ask Alexa. Want to know who wrote your favorite song? Wondering where “Puerto Maldonado” is? (Hint: it’s right where it’s always been: Peru.) She’ll tell you. While she’s not what I consider true A.I., she’s getting closer and I don’t want her in my house.
The next generation of Alexa is Amazon’s new Echo Look. This thing not only can hear, it can see as well. It’s sort of a hands-free selfie box. The idea is you use her to shoot stills or video of you in the morning so that you can review your choice of outfit before unleashing your incredible fashion sense on the world. The last thing I want in my closet or bathroom is something hooked to the internet that can snap pictures. Goodness knows the mirror is bad enough. Using the Echo Look app in conjunction with this interloper teaches Alexa to compare different fashion choices and award an overall style rating. Just what I need, Olympic judging of my wardrobe. Alexa then makes style suggestions. If you like the suggestions, she can have it delivered to your door the next day. Digital assistant or digital sales associate? Hmmmm…
Granted for folks like me who wear khakis and a button down shirt every day, it might be a good thing for beefing up my curb appeal. But don’t Garanimals do the same thing? Match the animals and you match the outfit. No electricity required and no harsh fashion shaming from a computer. Just don’t mix predators with prey otherwise the term “eat my shorts” may take on a new meaning.
Back when all this science fact was still fiction, folks worried about the government using high tech gadgets to spy on them. The fear of Big Brother was much discussed. I never believed the government would force its way into our homes with electric ears and eyes. So far I’m correct. Sure they can “take a peak” but they didn’t force their way in. We opened the door to that long ago when we fell in love with smart phones, web cams, and Alexa. We open it wider every time we agree to terms of certain apps and programs. Read the fine print in some of them you’ll know what I mean. The real worry is protection of the information that is being collected. However in that regard, the government may be the least of our worries. Ever wonder how many people have the same name and social security number in the virtual banking world these days? It’s our digital clones that should give us pause.
Still I’d like to know what such A.I. would have to say to the question “Alexa does this make me look fat”?
“Not to worry,” she replies, “big butts are in.”
