It's really part of AI, but a separate thread nevertheless..
Amazon has by far the best voice-based consumer operating system platform on the market. Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana both pale in comparison. The Echo is, however, not without limitations. Many questions can’t be answered by the Echo at this point. We have learned how to ask questions in different ways, though. For example, if Alexa can’t help us with a question, just rephrase it as “Alexa Wikipedia Jay Z” and the Echo will read you a few lines from Wikipedia.com on the aforementioned topic. Many Echo users are starting to control their Hue light bulbs and other IoT devices in their homes by speaking commands to Alexa. What Photoshop is to Windows or the Mac O/S, these current and future household IoT devices are to Echo, which is emerging as the de facto audible operating system / server of choice to these client IoT devices. CTOs and CIOs will likely soon look into audible-based API calls to Echo or competing Echo products as another way to reach their customers.
The Next Operating System Platform that Matters | Sandhill
ANY sufficiently advanced technology, noted Arthur C. Clarke, a British science-fiction writer, is indistinguishable from magic. The fast-emerging technology of voice computing proves his point. Using it is just like casting a spell: say a few words into the air, and a nearby device can grant your wish. The Amazon Echo, a voice-driven cylindrical computer that sits on a table top and answers to the name Alexa, can call up music tracks and radio stations, tell jokes, answer trivia questions and control smart appliances; even before Christmas it was already resident in about 4% of American households. Voice assistants are proliferating in smartphones, too: Apple’s Siri handles over 2bn commands a week, and 20% of Google searches on Android-powered handsets in America are input by voice. Dictating e-mails and text messages now works reliably enough to be useful. Why type when you can talk?
How voice technology is transforming computing | The Economist
To further complicate matters, many voice-driven devices are always listening, waiting to be activated. Some people are already concerned about the implications of internet-connected microphones listening in every room and from every smartphone. Not all audio is sent to the cloud—devices wait for a trigger phrase (“Alexa”, “OK, Google”, “Hey, Cortana”, or “Hey, Siri”) before they start relaying the user’s voice to the servers that actually handle the requests—but when it comes to storing audio, it is unclear who keeps what and when.
How voice technology is transforming computing | The Economist
Voice will not wholly replace other forms of input and output. Sometimes it will remain more convenient to converse with a machine by typing rather than talking (Amazon is said to be working on an Echo device with a built-in screen). But voice is destined to account for a growing share of people’s interactions with the technology around them, from washing machines that tell you how much of the cycle they have left to virtual assistants in corporate call-centres. However, to reach its full potential, the technology requires further breakthroughs—and a resolution of the tricky questions it raises around the trade-off between convenience and privacy.
How voice technology is transforming computing | The Economist