最具實力的語音服務提供商

????蘋果推出Siri服務，試圖開發出富有魅力和幽默感的服務項目，從而攻克反饋的難題。這項語音服務具有可識別、具體、人性化的特點。比起同谷歌或微軟的設備交談，與Siri的交流會讓人覺得不那么奇怪，原因很簡單，我們不習慣于同機器交談。蘋果在廣告中為Siri傾力打造的形象顯然有助于讓人們覺得，同自己的設備對話就如同和一個正常、自然、當然也非常酷的人對話一樣。這一點對于將語音交互推向主流是巨大的貢獻。不過事實在于，Siri也有自身的缺陷。

????我們不妨將Siri與谷歌的語音服務來進行一下對比。谷歌是科技的殿堂，他們提供的服務就像功利主義的病毒——可靠，高效，有著令人印象深刻的技術，能夠設法傳播到人們生活中的每個角落。但是它們不太有趣、還有些古怪離奇——這并不是谷歌的特質。谷歌的Voice Search具備其他谷歌產品的所有特質。它在尋找信息時非常實用。不過對大多數用戶來說，想要同它交流比同Siri交流還要困難，因為它并不是那么人性化。

????Siri和Voice Search還有另外一個重要區別。Siri希望成為用戶解決事務的“助手”，而不僅僅是尋找信息的檢索工具。這個發展也許實際上定義了科技在滿足我們需求方面的一次重大轉型，它的重心從搜索信息轉變成為人們解決問題。只有你的助手或者最好的朋友才愿意幫助你達成目標。這種人性化的指導很有價值，也很可能實現，因為他們都很了解你。這個認識也讓我們與他們的交流變得更加有趣，更有益處。你不需要時刻告訴他們你的喜好，因為他們都知道。同樣地，為了成為你的得力助手，Siri必須擁有情境感知的智能——這是真正棘手的部分。

????Siri已經深深嵌入iOS系統中，在設備定位和日程約會等功能的幫助下，它能夠更好地了解用戶的意圖和相關情況。

????下一級的智能將會源自用戶iOS系統中的其他應用。應用程序本身就能讓Siri了解到用戶的喜好和習慣，不過，如果Siri能夠獲取一些應用中的信息，它將會變得更加智能。花旗銀行（Citibank）的應用會告訴它，你的支出更傾向于哪些方面，支出了多少；美國橄欖球聯盟（NFL）的應用會告知它你支持哪只球隊；社交網站Facebook和LinkedIn能讓它知道你的朋友、工作和同事的信息，而Spotify和網飛（Netfilx）則會告知它，你喜歡什么音樂和電影。想象一下，如果Siri掌握了這一切信息，它的服務質量會有多大提升。

????紐昂斯通訊公司（Nuance Communications）是語音技術領域的行家（也是Siri的技術提供商），該公司最近推出了自己的語音解決方案Nina，似乎準備將應用整合的挑戰升級到公司層面。Nina的定位是“移動設備用戶服務應用的虛擬助手”，它承諾通過加深對情境的認知，提供更具吸引力的用戶體驗——因此在架設人機溝通的橋梁上，它比Siri走得更遠。通過與手機對話，支付賬單等事務將會更加方便。

The loudest voices

????With Siri, Apple (AAPL) is attempting to conquer the feedback issue by designing a service that comes with a charming personality and a sense of humor. This embodiment of Apple's voice service makes it recognizable, tangible, and almost human. Conversing with Siri somehow feels less strange than simply talking to a Google (GOOG) or Microsoft (MSFT) device, simply because we're not used to talking to machines. The vision that Apple puts forward for Siri in its ads certainly helps to make talking to your device as if it were a person seem normal, natural, and of course, cool. This is a big contribution for moving voice interaction into the mainstream, but the reality is that Siri still has her shortcomings.

????Compare this approach to Google's. Google is a temple to technology, and their services tend to be utilitarian viruses – reliable, efficient, technically impressive, and able to find their ways into all corners of people's lives. But they are not fun, quirky, and idiosyncratic – those are not Google traits. Google Voice Search has all the hallmark traits of other Google services. It makes it a great utility for finding things, but the barrier for engagement will still be higher for most people compared with Siri, simply because it's less human.

????There's another key difference between Siri and Google's Voice Search. Siri's promise is to be an "assistant" that helps you get stuff done, not merely a search utility for finding information. This development might in fact come to define a major shift in how technology serves our needs, as the emphasis shifts from finding things to doing things for us. Your partner or best friend tend to help you reach your goals. This human coaching is valued and possible because these people know a lot about you. This knowledge also makes interacting with them pleasurable and rewarding. You don't have to teach them the basics about your preferences all the time, they simply know. In a similar way, in order to become a valuable companion for you, Siri must have contextual smarts – that's the really tricky part.

????Siri is already deeply embedded in iOS, and with the help of information like device location and calendar appointments she aims to better understand the individual's intent and personal context.

????The next level of intelligence could be derived from the apps that reside on your iOS device. Just the app collection itself can give Siri some useful clues about your interests and habits, but she will become much smarter if she can get access to the data from some of the apps. The Citibank (C) app might tell her where you tend to spend money and how much, the NFL app will tell her what football team you support, Facebook (FB) and LinkedIn (LNKD) could tell her about your friends, job, and colleagues, and Spotify and Netflix (NFLX) will tell her what music and movies you like. Imagine how much better she could serve you if she knew all this.

????Nuance Communications, the powerhouse in voice technologies (and the company that helps to power Siri), recently introduced Nina, its own voice solution that appears to be ready to tackle the app integration challenge on an enterprise level. Billed as a "virtual assistant for mobile customer service apps," Nina promises to deliver a more compelling user experience through greater contextual awareness—and therefore a voice assistant that goes further than Siri to bridge the human-computer divide, making tasks like paying bills easy to do just by talking to your mobile phone.

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