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In Lauren Goode’s article Ten
Things You Didn’t Know Google Now Could Do, she describes Google’s new app
created called Google Now. Google launched this new app in 2013, and can be
downloaded onto Androids, cellphones with iOS, and even computer hard drives
(this wasn't made available until March of 2014). The feature is meant to be like
your daily reminder and helper, giving you commuting and traffic tips, telling you the
weather forecast, and even giving you minute by minute sport updates. So, what
makes Google Now special in regards to other artificial intelligence apps and
features? Let me tell you.
It's like Siri, but smarter.
Google Now offers the same “ask” feature
like Siri, only it’s activated by speaking "Okay Google..." as
compared to "Hey Siri...” What makes Google Now different however is it is more conversational;
you don't have to talk like a robot for the app to understand you. You can
build off your first question and replace nouns with pronouns, once the initial
topic has been established.
Furthermore, Google Now doesn’t require you to say “Okay Google…”
for it to answer you, like Siri does. It will bring up “cards”
with tips, reminders, and updates automatically. For instance, the app is able to memorize
commuting patterns, and times when you come and go from work. Say you leave
from work at 3:00pm every day, the app will automatically pull up a “card” holding
information with heavy traffic areas and approximate arrival times at 3:00pm. It
can even help you find where you parked your car!
You can also sync your Google+ and Gmail accounts, giving you the ability to access pictures, and any other information by simply saying "Hey Google...".
These are just some of the fun and cool features this app
provides. You can customize the settings to pull up what you want it to, and when,
to make it more user friendly. This app has definitely shown us what technology is and can be
capable of.
Is it worth it though?
Like for anything, there are some cons to Google Now. As a new
feature, there are still some kinks in the program, and I’m sure Google is
constantly updating the app with its most finalized product. Also, while it has
potential to help us out in daily life in ways we never thought were possible,
it requires collaboration and syncing of many programs like email, phone
contacts, pictures, and GPS location, which may be more than people are willing
to put into Google’s information database. Is our personal information and
privacy worth the awesome abilities this app can give? What are your thoughts?
A related article to one of the features Google Now provides that
has raised some questions can be found here: http://www.digitaltrends.com/
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