Computers That Know What You Need, Before You Ask

[TexasTowelie]

We're already giving voice instructions to virtual personal assistants, like Apple's Siri. But artificial intelligence is getting even smarter. The next wave of behavior-changing computing is a technology called anticipatory computing — systems that learn to predict what you need, even before you ask.

Google Now, which is available on tablets and mobile devices, is an early form of this. You can ask it a question like, "Where is the White House?" and get a spoken-word answer. Then, Google Now recognizes any follow-up questions, like "How far is it from here?" as a human would — the system realizes you're still asking about the White House, even without you mentioning the search term again. It's an example of how anticipatory computing is moving the way we interact with devices from tapping or typing to predictive voice control.

"That's what is the next wave of computing, in my opinion," says venture capitalist Om Malik, who founded the technology news site, Gigaom.

Malik says smart virtual assistants using this technology are necessary to clear the digital clutter in our lives. The more we add apps and digital functions we need to perform on our devices, the more individually tapping or typing for each function becomes a hassle.

More at http://kut.org/post/computers-know-what-you-need-you-ask .

[Control-Z]

1. My text messaging anticipates my messages all the time.

And my phone answered itself the other day. I was on the other side of the room. I never heard it ring but the caller was talking to me as though I had answered it. Creepy.