As we live longer and technology continues its rapid development, we can imagine a future where machines will enlarge our human abilities and help us make better life choices, from health to wealth. Through our dialogue and digital pieces, AI (artificial intelligence) will understand our life goals and wishes, our duties and limitations. It will help us plan different life events, so we can spend more time enjoying life's moments.
The ability for AI to understand the complexities and slight differences of human conversation is, however, one hurdle. There are several thousand known living languages in the world today. Adding to the difficulties are the varied ways words are shared and used across different cultures, including grammar, levels of education and styles of the speakers. Google Duplex, the technology supporting Google Assistant, which places phone calls using a natural-sounding human voice instead of a robotic one, is an early attempt to address such challenges in human communications. But these are just initial whispers in voice of AI's long journey.
Beyond making reservations and conducting simple dialogues, virtual assistants will need to become far more useful and further fit into the parts of our everyday lives. Not only will they need to foresee what we need before we ask, they also need to understand the context of our conversations and react accordingly. Imagine a snow day when school is canceled for the kids. Knowing that you must now stay at home with your children, your phone would remind you, asking if you'd like your meetings moved to the following day. Alternatively, imagine how much more pleasant your journey home from a business trip would be if your phone could automatically arrange for a ride waiting to pick you up at the airport, based on your travel plan, location, and habits. The possibilities are endless.
