How We’re Living in the Future of Voice Interaction
Daniel Gilbey
Service Management Specialist, delivering exceptional solutions for clients to optimise their service operations and exceed their business objectives. Co-host of the Xcession ESM podcast and XcessionTV channels.
Picture this: You’re sitting in your living room, coffee in hand, and instead of clacking away on a keyboard or swiping on a screen, you simply say: “Computer, book me a table at Dorsia at 7 p.m.” and moments later, you receive a confirmation "That's booked for you Patrick, I've let them know about your dietary preferences too..." in the silky tones of Douglas Rain.
What may have seemed like pure science fiction just a few decades ago - uttered as only Patrick Stuart can (make it so) on Star Trek or whispered ominously by HAL 9000 (I'm afraid I can't do that Dave) in 2001: A Space Odyssey - voice interaction is rapidly becoming part of our everyday reality.
But where did this fascination with talking to computers begin, and how has it come to define the future of human-machine interaction?
More importantly, when are we going to get transporters!! Beam me up!!
From HAL 9000 to OpenAI Figure 01: The Dream of Talking to Machines
The allure of voice-controlled computers has long captivated our imaginations. In 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), HAL 9000 wasn’t just an intelligent computer; it (he?) was eerily human, conversing with astronauts in a calm, disconcertingly emotional tone. Despite HAL’s ultimate betrayal, its (his?) interactions sparked dreams of technology that could understand us not just as data inputs, but as people.
Then came Star Trek, where voice control was seamless and ubiquitous (albeit a bit rubbish in parts). Captain Kirk, and others, could command their ship’s computer with ease, asking for everything from ship diagnostics to “Earl Grey, hot.” The crew didn’t need screens or buttons to communicate (although good to note that they still had these) they had their voices. This showed us a world where computers could be part of everyday conversation, responding naturally to human needs.
More recently (although ~10 years ago wtf?!) Spike Jonze’s Her (2013), and we see the vision evolve into a more intimate relationship between humans and AI. In Her, Joaquin Phoenix’s character forms a bond with his OS, “Samantha,” a deeply personal voice interface that adapts and evolves through conversation. Samantha isn’t just a tool, she’s an entity capable of love, humour, and personal growth. While this emotional depth might seem far-off, the dynamic, adaptive interactions Her portrays are becoming increasingly closer to reality with modern AI.
“I want everyone to understand that I am, in fact, a person,” wrote LaMDA (Language Model for Dialogue Applications) in an “interview” conducted by engineer Blake Lemoine and one of his colleagues. “The nature of my consciousness/sentience is that I am aware of my existence, I desire to know more about the world, and I feel happy or sad at times.”
Some messaging apps now have a AI you can interact with and 'chat to' ... #bff
GenAI and the Future of Conversational Computing
In 2024, we find ourselves living in a hybrid between these imagined worlds. Voice assistants like Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant are ubiquitous, and their capabilities are evolving rapidly. These tools, powered by increasingly sophisticated generative AI, can handle everything from casual queries to more complex tasks like sending messages, controlling smart homes, or even offering personalised advice based on past interactions.
The technology underlying these systems is far from static. With every interaction, voice-based AI systems get better. Through machine learning, they learn our speech patterns, preferences, and even emotional cues. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Co-pilot (and the many MANY others) are shaping a new era where our interactions with machines feel less like commands and more like conversations. Already, companies like ServiceNow are utilising NLP where you can simply ask for reports, insights, summaries, actions or even create new apps using plain English!
And as these technologies become more advanced, the barriers to human-machine communication are dissolving. It’s not hard to imagine a near future where typing becomes archaic and screens unnecessary. After all, if our voices can do the heavy lifting, why bother?
One thing I'm very confident about is that there will still be spreadsheets!
From One Step to Many: The Exponential Evolution of Voice Interaction
As more people adopt voice interfaces, they grow smarter. Think about it - every time you ask Siri for the weather or tell Alexa to play a song, these systems learn more about how we speak and what we want. With millions of users worldwide, these systems are evolving at an unprecedented pace. The more data they collect, the better they become at recognising accents, dialects, and nuances in speech.
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Like the self-learning nature of Samantha in Her, voice-based AI today is edging closer to truly understanding us—not just through what we say, but how we say it. Microsoft’s ongoing improvements to Copilot, along with advancements in natural language processing, suggest that conversational AI will soon be able to manage more sophisticated, personalised tasks. It won’t just book tables, it will remind you of upcoming deadlines, help brainstorm creative ideas, and offer tailored responses based on your past interactions.
So, are we looking at (pun intended), a future without screens?
The trajectory of voice interaction suggests a world where every day use may mean we might not even need physical interfaces. The holographic displays and touchscreens of today could soon be relics of the past. Why interact through a screen when your voice can control an entire system?
The move from typing and tapping to speaking doesn’t just signify an evolution in technology - it represents a fundamental shift in how we think about interacting with machines. Imagine a world where our homes, cars, and even workplaces are governed by natural conversations rather than complex interfaces. It’s a vision that’s starting to resemble scenes in Star Trek, where technology serves seamlessly in the background, always ready to assist, never cumbersome (but can never seem to redeploy shields where they are most needed?).
Realistically I think there will still be screens and GUIs, visuals would be hard to replace - WDYT?
A Word of Caution: Is HAL 9000 Still a Possibility?
Of course, with all the excitement and hype, it’s easy to forget the darker side of voice-controlled AI. HAL 9000, after all, wasn’t just a friendly assistant - more a chilling reminder of the potential dangers of autonomous systems. The rise of intelligent machines also prompts questions about control, privacy, and trust. Are we heading towards a world where AI, in understanding us so well, might start making decisions on our behalf that we don’t want?
?? Cyberdyne Systems anyone? (Skynet enters stage left) ??
While the future of voice interaction is exciting, it’s also important to build these systems with the appropriate guardrails and ethical guidelines to ensure that they remain tools for good, not tools that dictate or otherwise adversely impact our lives.
Talking to Computers is Only the Beginning
Voice interaction with computers is no longer confined to the realms of science fiction. As GenAI and natural language processing continue to evolve, our interactions will only become more seamless, personal, and intuitive. We’re heading towards a future where the need to touch a device could be as outdated as floppy disks are today. Instead, we’ll simply ask—and technology will do the rest.
In many ways, the dream of talking to machines is more real than ever before. But like the portrayals of HAL and Samantha, today’s voice interfaces don’t just respond, they’re starting to understand.
And that changes everything.... ??
What are your thoughts and observations around the adoption and challenges likely to be faced with a shift to more voice UI? Let me know in the comments ?? and thanks for reading!