The Atlantic

Our Bots, Ourselves

How the descendants of Siri and Alexa could change our daily lives, thoughts, and relationships
Source: Alvaro Dominguez

In the coming decades, artificial intelligence will replace a lot of human jobs, from driving trucks to analyzing X-rays. But it will also work with us, taking over mundane personal tasks and enhancing our cognitive capabilities. As AI continues to improve, digital assistants—often in the form of disembodied voices—will become our helpers and collaborators, managing our schedules, guiding us through decisions, and making us better at our jobs. We’ll have something akin to Samantha from the movie Her or Jarvis from Iron Man: AI “agents” that know our likes and dislikes, and that free us up to focus on what humans do best, or what we most enjoy. Here’s what to expect.

1 | A Voice in Your Head

Anyone who’s used Siri (on Apple products) or Alexa (on Amazon Echo) has already spoken with a digital assistant. In

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