Why A.I. assistants need to stay neutral
CHARLES JOLLEY, OZLO SEPTEMBER 30, 2016 1:10 PM
http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/30/why-a-i-assistants-need-to-stay-neutral/
With the release of Google Allo last week, we’ve officially entered the era of the assistant. Every company that owns a major tech platform is now betting that assistants will be an important interface in the post-mobile world.
You might think assistants today are trivial or stupid, and you wouldn’t be wrong. They often don’t understand what we say and can’t hold real conversations yet. Mostly they’re relegated to simple tasks like playing music, sending texts, or setting timers.
The people building the assistants of a not-too-distant tomorrow see it differently. The next generation, of which the Google assistant that ships with Allo is one, have a grander ambition: to replace search and mobile apps as we know them. They are designed to provide information and guidance to everyday questions, to hold longer conversations, and even make complex decisions on our behalf.
Looking only at how assistants work today ignores the nature of how A.I. works. It improves at an exponential scale. Look at self-driving cars: A technology that seemed impossible for many years is already shuttling passengers in Pittsburgh. Assistants that influence our everyday decision-making may seem far off, but they will come upon us suddenly.
It’s critical that we start to think about how next-generation assistants decide what information they share with us now, before it’s decided for us. How will they determine which sources to consult when choosing recommended flights, hospitals, medical treatments, TV shows, or Chinese food delivery options? Who owns those data sources and decision processes?
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