Review of Amazon’s Voice-Controlled Echo Speaker | Re/code

Excerpt from a bit of an Alexa-as-Her review

"The allure of Alexa is her companionship. She’s like a genie in a sci-fi-looking bottle — one not quite at the peak of her powers, and with a tiny bit of an attitude.

She told me right away she’s better with factual questions. I asked her to tell me her backstory: Where she came from, who invented her, what she does. I asked her how old she is. “I’m four,” she replied. Joan Didion, she’s not.

She’s not really whimsical or seductive, or playful. She’s all business, or trying to be, like a substitute teacher. I asked her about her rival, Siri, and she was respectful but noncommittal."

Review of Amazon’s Voice-Controlled Echo Speaker | Re/code