TOW #15 - Ask Alexa? No, Hear This Alexa

In Ask Alexa? No, Hear This Alexa, Alexa O’Brien reflects on Amazon’s newest technology known as echo, which includes a voice recognition and natural language platform named Alexa. Alexa O’Brien, the author, was prompted in writing this article due to the similar names between herself and the ‘robot’.  Right around the holidays was when this new technology of Amazon began to rise in popularity.  But Alexa (the author) is not very fond of this addition which is shown in her diction and hypophora.  Geared toward an audience of anyone, O’Brien attempts to show the truth of these new additions to technology, which are basically classified as ‘robots’. In the beginning of this article, O’Brien asks a question which states, “No. I ask you — this real Alexa asks you — when did possessing hands become inconvenient?” By starting off with a deeper question it allows for O’Brien to utilize the rest of the article to in fact explain her answer and show that we shouldn’t need technology like Alexa (the robot) to get through life. She simply wonders why we can’t just get through our daily tasks by ourselves, with our own hands. O’Brien’s diction also helps to show her true opinion of Alexa (the robot), which indeed isn’t too positive.  She says, “Imperturbably obedient by design, Alexa appears to offer us a new level of control and choice, always on demand. The miracle of convenience allows us to romanticize this unilateralism to operate everything from our light bulbs, security systems, thermostats, music and media with a simple voice command — even as we disengage from people and depersonalize the institutions that enable real connection and collective agency.” As O’Brien summarizes what good this new technology brings to us, she spills the truth of this very institution.  As we make more and more gadgets like Alexa, we are decreasing our very own human interaction.  By using words like disengage and depersonalize O’Brien is able to reveal the reality of this situation and how it is really going to hurt the human population in the long run. In my opinion, I believe O’Brien was able to effectively reveal her opinion of technology in a very sophisticated and simplistic way.  I agree with her opinion in the sense that as we make more technology we are losing that precious and real human connection and interaction. But I hope that it isn’t true and that we indeed do not lose that human connection.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/16/opinion/ask-alexa-no-hear-this-alexa.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss