Guys, What do you think about the Google Home concept device that never made it to market?

[OldBlue]

The Google Home is out there, and it's Google's version of Amazon's Alexa. It can answer most any questions you have, set reminders, tell you the weather, add things to your lists, translate languages, play music and podcasts, etc. It really is an amazing personal assistant.

But a few years back, Google was toying with the idea of making the smart-speaker more interactive. (Microsoft toyed with the same idea a few years prior, and shelved the idea)

Google's idea was to give the smart-speaker an eye. Lots of people are freaked out about gadgets that listen in on you, but this would take it to the next level. It would watch you and your surroundings.

For those of you that haven't tried it, check out Google Lens. (Most Android phones have it) I once had a crazy looking beetle on the outside of my door. Google Lens told me exactly what type of beetle it was. So, basically, Google knows what pretty much everything is.

So this new smart-speaker would know you, your friends, your family, and even your cats and dogs. Obviously Google doesn't have that knowledge, so you would just tell your smart-speaker the name of your cat. But recognition software is very advanced. (casinos use it) So you probably couldn't trick your speaker by showing it the neighbor's cat.

Updates

5 mo

But the beta testers rejected this concept device. They said it was just too freaky. In one example, the guy dressed for some occasion, and then asked the speaker what it thought. The speaker replied that his red shirt would go better with those pants. (It knows you have a red shirt, because it saw you wearing it once) Another example they gave was when the guy asked it: "Google, have you seen my purple coffee cup?"

Google: Yes, your friend Todd put it in his backpack when he left on Thursday.

[Wise4myage]

Scary, very scary.

[OldBlue]

I wish I could have found the video of the Xbox prototype for this. It was even creepier. It was creepier, because not only was it listening and watching, you could see the other person on your screen. In the video I watched, it was a little boy that would talk to you. He was trying to get you to go fishing with him. But he recognized you and other people.
But even though it's creepy, you have to admire the technology. 😁