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Why would anyone care if Alexa is "real AI" (per their personal definition) or not?
I can ask what time it is. I can set multiple timers while cooking. I can set an alarm to wake me up in the morning. I can turn my household lights on and off. I can tell my sprinkler system to water a zone that is looking dry. I can add items to my shopping list. I can ask what the weather will be. I can converse with others in different rooms. I can ask the current score of a hockey game, or I can ask what channel it's being broadcast on. I can ask what the best temperature is for baking salmon. I can dim the lights while sitting on the couch watching a movie. I can be watching reruns and ask, "Alexa, is Dick Van Dyke still alive?" I can tell it to connect to my large bluetooth speakers and play Christmas music. I get notified as soon as Amazon drops off a package at my door so I can go get it before some porch pirate does.
I don't care if this is "real AI" per someone else's definition, or if it's Bob and Cindy at Amazon sitting at their laptops typing really fast to get me the info I want.
One fantastic use of Alexa is for those of us who have aging parents that have dementia. Before my mom died, I used this to converse with her in her memory care facility. She had forgotten how to use a telephone, but she could still speak out "Alexa, call David" and seconds later I'd answer this automatically placed call to my cellphone and she'd hear me on her Alexa speakerphone. And I could contact her by saying "Alexa, drop in on mom" and she'd hear me come in over Alexa's speakerphone without her having to answer or acknowledge or anything. This cross-town hands-free voice-controlled intercom that could even dial me on my cellphone was a Godsend. I was so glad to have this capability, even if some don't consider it to be "real AI". It solved a tough problem. Beautifully.
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