These smart assistant devices are placed in the most intimate areas of our living spaces. My family has two Alexa and two Google Home devices that are primarily used for music (or to put an end to a trivial debate). By 2021, it’s predicted in an UN report that there’ll be more digital voice assistants than people on the planet — I’ll give you a moment to let that sink in.
Through speculative design as a mode to critique existing technology and imagine a new future, I want to explore how IoT devices can be more transparent in data collection and surveillance with less focus on consumption.
Introducing “It’s Alive” Edition for Alexa
Amazon Alexa’s minuscule appearance and friendly cadence are balanced just enough for me to forget that it’s constantly listening for its wake word before interjecting its presence into the room. What are the dangers of this? For starters, the scripts that voice assistants follow are often meant to help a user complete daily tasks with a domestic and secretarial role. To move away from the feminization of voice assistants, this “It’s Alive” Edition for Alexa utilizes Q which is the first genderless voice which was created to end gender bias in AI assistants.
A plant must be placed in the pot-like redesign of the Alexa device shape. Plants need attention and if a person forgets its presence then it begins to wilt. By having the user regularly water the plant, it helps to reinforce the presence of the voice assistant in their living space. Settings for Alexa can be adjusted so that when water is detected visuals display what data has been collected over a course of time. Along with the option of having Alexa automatically propose prompts that are tied to promoting the wellbeing of the user during this interaction.
A thicker light band emitted from a screen creates a more noticeable signifier for when Alexa is “turned on.” Taking inspiration from Amazon’s Echo Spot, a camera is placed on the center-front of the screen rim. A bright light is also emitted whenever the camera is ON. This camera and screen feature on the Echo Spot is typically used for video chats or displaying the time and weather forecast. However, “It’s Alive” is able to recognize sign language as an alternative to vocal commands. For example, sign language can be are captured by the camera with messages appearing on the narrow screen.
Alexa is alive (sort of) and requires attention
The essence of Alexa is to minimize the amount of attention a user needs in order to complete a task. Through this exploration of designing “It’s Alive” for Alexa in a speculative way I wanted to disrupt the generalized persona that’s developing around voice assistants. Along with creating a new normal of surfacing the data collection that often is mysteriously unspoken of with these products. However, it’ll be interesting to see how the form of the device will impact our relationship with technology (which the movie Her explores AI-human connection).
Amber Case advocates for “calm technology” that becomes part of a user’s life that limits distraction and is non-instrusive. With more emerging technology focused on taking up space in a user’s periphery, there’s also room for innovation in how we bring transparency and accountability to the data being collected and stored. Or designing products for the future that considers ways its features can be adapted for users with disabilities.
With a future filled with AI assistants, I wonder ways we might bring attention to how these devices are very much alive in taking parts in our daily lives and in dangerous mis-use cases — even when we’re not looking (or listening). Why does the Google Home, Amazon Alexa, or Apple HomePod have to look the way it does?