BY KAREN BOSSICK
That little voice emanating from your kitchen counter known as Alexa or Siri is on the cutting edge of a voice-computing revolution.
Veteran tech journalist James Vlahos says computers that speak and think like humans are about to transform every sector of society from business to how we access information.
Vlahos will give a preview of the world of tomorrow in a free presentation at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Ketchum’s Community Library.
Vlahos will describe how the titans of Silicon Valley are racing to build the last, best computer that the world will ever need—one they call “conversational AI.”
This computer will overturn traditional notions of privacy and fundamentally alter the way we understand human consciousness.
“What happens when our computers become as articulate, compassionate and creative as we are?” Vlahos asks. “Who stands to profit the most? Will it increase our addiction to all things digital?”
Vlahos, who lives in El Cerrito, Calif., is the author of “Talk to Me: How Voice Computing will Transform the Way We Live, Work and Think.”
He also is a contributor to the New York Times Magazine, Popular Science, Scientific American, The Atlantic, GQ and National Geographic. His 2017 cover story for Wired chronicled how he tried to understand the voice-computing revolution first-hand by programming his own AI chat box—software that conducts a simulated conversation—to continue to converse with his father after his death.
The event will be live streamed and recorded by the library. To access, go to https://livestream.com/comlib