BBQ Sauce | AI Assistants
You've been using AI for years. You just never called it that.
You know those moments where someone nearby says "hey Siri" or "OK Google" and you think oh right, that's a thing people do? Well here's a little revelation for you. If you've ever asked your phone to set a timer, told Alexa to play something, or accidentally woken up Google Assistant by saying a word that sounded vaguely like her name… that's AI. That's been AI this whole time.
Welcome to the club, you've been a member longer than you thought!
These ones are a bit different to your tomato sauces. You don't open an app and type at them. You just talk. They live in your phone, your smart speaker, your TV, and increasingly your car, your watch, and probably your fridge if you've got one of the fancy ones. They're embedded in your everyday life in a way that makes a good BBQ sauce at a sausage sizzle look positively optional by comparison.
They take simple errands off your hands. Set alarms. Play music. Answer quick questions. Read out your messages while your hands are covered in actual BBQ sauce. They're helpful, they're convenient, and they are absolutely always keen.
Sometimes a little too keen.
You were out there saying "seriously" and Siri heard her name. Keen for sure. Appropriate? About fifty percent of the time.
What’s on the grill.
Made by Apple.
Lives in your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, HomePod, and Apple TV.
Siri
Siri was the original.
She turned up on the iPhone 4S back in 2011 and absolutely nobody knew what to do with her. Over a decade later she's had a significant glow up and is genuinely useful for the quick everyday stuff. Setting timers, sending messages, making calls, checking the weather, adding things to your shopping list while your hands are full of groceries.
She's not going to write your annual report but she will absolutely tell you the nearest servo is 800 metres away while you're driving.
In the family.
If you've got an Apple device she's already there. Just say "Hey Siri" and ask her something simple to get started.
Pro tip: she responds much better to clear specific requests than vague ones. "Hey Siri, set a timer for 20 minutes" will get you everywhere. "Hey Siri, sort my life out" less so.
She's been there this whole time. Might as well have a proper conversation.
Google Assistant
Made by Google.
Lives in Android phones, Google Nest speakers, Google Home devices, Google TV and Chromebooks.
If you're an Android person, then Google Assistant is your Siri equivalent and then some.
She's deeply connected to the whole Google ecosystem which means she plays nicely with your Gmail, your Calendar, your Maps, and your Google smart home devices if you've gone down that particular rabbit hole.
Particularly good at answering questions, managing your schedule, and controlling smart home stuff without you having to get up off the couch.
Your Google world, hands free.
Try asking her to read out your next calendar appointment or navigate home while you're driving.
She's at her best when she's connected to your Google account and doing things your other Google tools already know about. The more you use Google's ecosystem the more useful she becomes.
She knows your schedule better than you do. Use that.
Made by Amazon.
Lives in Echo smart speakers, Fire TV, and a growing list of third party devices.
Alexa
Alexa is the one that lives in your lounge room and occasionally makes you feel slightly watched when you realise she's been listening to your entire dinner party conversation.
She's brilliant for smart home control, shopping lists, music, timers, and quick questions.
If you've got an Echo device you've already got Alexa. If you've ever said "Alexa, play something chill" while cooking dinner then congratulations, you've been an AI user this whole time.
Make her earn her spot on the bench.
Most people use Alexa for music and timers and then forget she can do about fifty other things.
Try asking her to add things to your shopping list throughout the week and then pulling it up at the supermarket. Or set up routines so she does multiple things with one command. "Alexa, good morning" can turn on your lights, tell you the weather, and read your calendar all at once.
She's been sitting there quietly. Give her something to do.
Made by Samsung.
Lives in Samsung Galaxy phones, tablets, smart TVs and home appliances.
Bixby
Bixby is the one Samsung users didn't ask for and couldn't figure out how to turn off.
If you've got a Samsung Galaxy phone there's a reasonable chance you've accidentally activated Bixby at least once by squeezing the side of your phone or pressing a button you didn't mean to.
Awkward.
But underneath the slightly overeager arrival, Bixby is actually a capable assistant that's particularly good at controlling your Samsung devices and apps. If your home runs on Samsung products it's worth giving it a proper chance.
Give it a second chance.
Most Samsung users dismiss Bixby after accidentally activating it seventeen times in a row.
Understandable.
But if you use a Samsung TV, Samsung smart appliances, or a Galaxy phone and tablet together, Bixby can actually connect them all in genuinely useful ways. Try asking it to control your TV or adjust your phone settings hands free.
You've accidentally activated it more times than you've used it on purpose. Time to fix that ratio.
Before you go.
BBQ sauce has been at every Australian barbecue, every sausage sizzle, every school canteen sandwich for as long as most of us can remember. Nobody introduced it. Nobody taught us how to use it. It just appeared one day and became completely unremarkable because it was always just there.
Same goes for this lot of AIs. They moved in quietly, made themselves comfortable, and have been hanging around ever since. Always on. Always ready. Genuinely helpful when you need them and occasionally a little too eager when you don't. You know the type.
The amount of times Siri has perked up when absolutely nobody called her name. Babe. We weren't talking to you. But points for enthusiasm.
What's worth remembering is that you've been in a relationship with AI for years through these and it was so easy, so low key, so completely unthreatening that you never once felt behind or overwhelmed. You just asked it to play something and got on with the barbie.
So next time someone tells you that you don't know anything about AI, you tell them you've been getting saucy with it since 2011.
