CNET's Next Big Thing at CES 2016: Is typing dead?

From Siri to Cortana, Google Now to Amazon's Alexa, voice recognition is the new normal. Does that mean the keyboard is an endangered species?

3rd & 7 37yd

max.taves 1/7/2016 12:16:58 AM
There's a whole area called affective research looking at the people's emotional states, for example, a driver's stress level, says MIT's Maes.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:17:15 AM
If a driver seems to display stress, the car might begin playing calming music, she says.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:18:42 AM
Stanford's Ju: Our most valuable resource is our attention. Augmented reality can take away our attention. Gaze could become important to monitor people's attention, she says.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:19:06 AM
Gaze could help people manage the traffic flow of information, she says.
James Martin 1/7/2016 12:19:23 AM
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:19:43 AM
How will these developments change our interactions with each other, asks Tim Stevens.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:20:38 AM
Our devices are with us from age 12, says MIT's Maes, who argues that our devices can learn about us in the future better than the humans around us. They could help us communicate, give us advice, encourage us to be bold if we're shy or to become a better version of ourselves.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:21:51 AM
Question from the audience here: Internet of Things is a big topic here at CES. What is potential of adding personality to our devices? Can we add humor to them, giving them life-like characteristics?
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:22:11 AM
Do we anthropomorphize our devices is question on table.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:22:29 AM
Stanford's Ju: It's not possible to create these devices without a character.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:24:14 AM
Somebody just asked another question but this blogger couldn't make out his intent. Too bad a computer wasn't here to do it.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:25:36 AM
Next question: Voice is a nice way to do things but no one seems to focus on fact that if we're trying to speak English with a foreign accent it's really hard to be understood. Don't you think the next big thing will work robustly? Why is that so hard?
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:26:38 AM
Nuance's Sejnoha: You couldn't be more wrong... It's an evolving technology that is getting better every year.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:27:50 AM
Next question from the audience: Related to personality of devices, how did you go about choosing the voice of Siri? And does the British Siri have the same sense of humor as the American?
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:28:08 AM
Nuance's Sejnoha says he can't comment on Apple's choice.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:28:40 AM
BMW's Behrendt: We try to be as neutral as possible when we choose voices.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:29:31 AM
If you speak German and you pronounce a French name it might understand it, but when it pronounces it it might sound totally different. It's a trick technology, says BMW's Behrendt.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:29:54 AM
Last question: Is there a tipping point where you're looking for what might augment reality versus detract from their humanity?
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:30:13 AM
MIT's Maes: Thanks for that question. That's the best question of today.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:30:33 AM
Maes: We are changing ourselves. I no longer know the telephone numbers of my kids b/c my phone knows it.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:30:51 AM
Maes: I think we should have more discussions about in what ways we want to change us and what that means for our technologies.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:31:25 AM
Sejnoha: I'm a technology optimist. There was a time when books were thought of as dangerous. We should be thoughtful about how we go about it, but it's powerful.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:32:00 AM
Stanford's Ju: The way we design the tech can be more or less social. It's up to us to design it. You might not know the phone numbers of your children, but you're still talking to them.
max.taves 1/7/2016 12:32:29 AM
CNET's Next Big Thing panel on "Is Typing Dead" just ended.