How Do Voice Assistants Work?

In this episode, Frank and Andy explore voice assistants and the behind the scenes technology that makes them tick.

AI Generated Transcript

00:00:02 British Voiceover AI Lady

Hello and welcome to data driven, the podcast where we explore the emerging fields of data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence and will not be the only AI generated voice today. As Frank and Andy interview, my Cousins Alexa, Cortana, Siri and the Google assistant.

00:00:18 British Voiceover AI Lady

Now that I think of it, the Google assistant needs a proper name.

00:00:22 British Voiceover AI Lady

Doesn't it?

00:00:23 British Voiceover AI Lady

Without further ado, here are your hosts Frank Lavigna and Andy Leonard.

00:00:29 Frank

So we're both together and we're going to be talking about voice assistants and kind of how they work and.

00:00:38 Frank

Uh, we have some special guests with us today.

00:00:42 Frank

Welcome once again, if you're just joining us live. It's Andy later tonight we are here and we are live streaming, data driven podcast where we explore the emerging fields of data science, machine learning an artificial intelligence.

00:00:55 Frank

How are you doing Andy?

00:00:56 Andy

I'm doing pretty good Frank. How are you?

00:00:59 Frank

I'm doing well. I know you have a hard stop so I won't Yammer too long we have.

00:01:04 Frank

Three special guests with us today.

00:01:06 Frank

And E 3 three.

00:01:09 Frank

That's a record. It is a record.

00:01:14 Frank

These guests are.

00:01:19 Andy

Alexa Hello Alexa.

00:01:22 Frank

She's going to say hello back, I'm sure.

00:01:26 Andy

Yeah.

00:01:28 Frank

Cortana.

00:01:30 Andy

Hello Cortana.

00:01:33 Frank

And.

00:01:36 Frank

On my phone, I have Google Assistant.

00:01:38 Andy

Hello Google Assistant Hey Google.

00:01:41 Frank

That didn't work. It now correctly phones on. Let me tell you whenever there's a training video or like a keynote where they talk about the integration between them. It's pandemonium in my Home Office, because I usually have all three and it's just harder pandemonium.

00:01:59 Frank

So I want to switch to, so we're recording this last. If you're watching live. Thank you. If you're watching later, thank you. We always try to respond to the comments. I think we're pretty good about that. And if you're watching this, if you're listening to this on the podcast, I will try to transcribe everything I'm saying. So let me switch.

00:02:18 Frank

Here.

00:02:19 Frank

An I'll see if I can put us in the little bottom here, how do?

00:02:22 Frank

I do that.

00:02:24 Frank

There we go.

00:02:27 Frank

Oh well anyway.

00:02:30 Andy

So there we.

00:02:31 Andy

Are were there this is a closed.

00:02:34 Frank

Almost there, this is the. This is a quote.

00:02:38 Frank

From Charles the 5th, who if you're not up in your history he was kind of a big deal. I think he was a hapsburg. I don't remember shame on me but he has this quote where he says I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men in German to my horse.

00:02:57 Frank

Now you're probably wondering what the heck does this have to do with anything? Well, here's what it has to do with.

00:03:03 Frank

Oh no, PowerPoint is going to crash.

00:03:07 Frank

No, you can tell.

00:03:08 Frank

We're live here we go. This is what I want to say.

00:03:11 Frank

This is the my my modern take on this. I speak to Elexa when I'm home to Cortana. When I'm at work and Google Assistant when I'm in my car or have my phone with me.

00:03:24 Frank

You can also replace that with Siri. I don't. I do have an iPad, but it's not with me.

00:03:28 Andy

That's Frank, the 1st right.

00:03:30 Frank

Frank the 1st.

00:03:34 Frank

I rather like that I rather like that.

00:03:38 Frank

So the idea here is you know how do these things work.

00:03:41 Frank

You know what?

00:03:44 Frank

An you know, in terms of the guests and and kind of things and I know you have a A Time Constraint so I just want to kind of demonstrate something that I've had the chance for a work engagement had a chance to kind of study up on all three because it was a competitive situation between Louis.

00:04:03 Frank

Which is ultimately what powers Cortana, kind of behind the scenes, and Lex which is the Alexa version for processing text and dialogue flow, which is the Google version, so it's a lot of mouthfuls an I did. Let's see if we can get our guests to introduce themselves Alexa.

00:04:24 Frank

Hi how are you?

00:04:27 Speaker 3

I'm feeling like a home run.

00:04:29 Speaker 3

This weekend I'll be watching a lot of my favorite sports.

00:04:35 Frank

OK.

00:04:38 Frank

I'm getting a warning sign on my stream ability here, so I don't know what's going on.

00:04:42 Andy

What's up with that?

00:04:43 Frank

I don't know Well, you're still hear me so that's a good sign.

00:04:46 Andy

Yeah, you're you're good with me and I'm out here on the in the boondocks with 25 minutes bro.

00:04:50 Frank

There you go.

00:04:52 Frank

Hey Cortana.

00:04:54 Frank

How are you?

00:04:57 Speaker 4

Great thanks.

00:04:59 Frank

There you go.

00:05:00 Frank

And let's see what our friend Google Assistant.

00:05:03 Frank

Has to say.

00:05:10 Frank

Hey court, I'm sorry. OK Google, how are you?

00:05:18 Frank

Oops, it's on my Bluetooth, that's why OK.

00:05:22 Frank

You could tell where life looks 'cause it's just all bloopers.

00:05:27 Frank

How are you?

00:05:32 Frank

So we've returned a bunch of short search results, OK?

00:05:39 Frank

What's interesting about these three is that they're all trying to solve essentially the same problem, right? The they they are trying to solve.

00:05:46 Frank

The ability to take human language.

00:05:49 Frank

And type, it in and convert it to let me see if I get this screen back up.

00:05:55 Frank

An I will maximize that there we go see my fancy setup I do. It's cool, isn't it? Yes.

00:06:04 Frank

Alright, so ultimately they're all trying to say the same problem. Hey, we have a comment wise guy. Yes I am miserable. OK, alright, so here's the problem that all these devices want to solve, right? This is a human. This is some speaker device thingy.

00:06:21 Frank

Right?

00:06:23 Frank

And.

00:06:25 Frank

You have the cloud.

00:06:27 Frank

Which I think is really makes this.

00:06:29 Frank

Possible in a lot of ways or not. Just possible and practical? Yeah yeah.

00:06:34 Frank

I say.

00:06:36 Frank

You know, turn.

00:06:39 Frank

I have to be careful 'cause I actually do have the lights in my Home Office so.

00:06:43

Set up to this.

00:06:46 Frank

Right, right? So this gets digitized into audio.

00:06:51 Frank

Right?

00:06:52 Frank

Here right, I'll draw that by Squiggly Lines.

00:06:55 Andy

Right, I like to squiggly lines.

00:06:57 Frank

See, I'm talented, I'm very.

00:06:59 Andy

Hard you are. You're an artist.

00:07:01 Frank

Then a cloud service, right? Whether that's Louis.

00:07:07 Frank

Dialogflow

00:07:09 Frank

Or Lax.

00:07:12 Frank

Converts that into.

00:07:15 Frank

Back into text or into text, right? Right turn the.

00:07:20 Frank

Lights on.

00:07:27 Frank

Then what happens is then you have to figure out what does that mean. What's the context here, right? What's the intent? That's the official word.

00:07:34 Frank

So that's turn lights.

00:07:38 Frank

And then on now most people will argue with me. Is that technically this is the intent?

00:07:43 Frank

And this is the the destination or slot.

00:07:48 Frank

Lex calls us a slot and this is the state that you want, right? So ultimately there's 100 different ways I can say that, and this is what makes the really kind of an LP problem, right? Please turn the lights on or do would you kindly turn the lights on right bioshock?

00:08:02 Frank

Right there for you.

00:08:05 Frank

Um?

00:08:06 Frank

That sort of thing, and then whatever that happens, is that this will then parse that into an action, right?

00:08:12 Frank

Which, if you have smart plugs, it will then send a message back through the magic of the Internet and then turn the actual.

00:08:20 Frank

Oh, I like how that's doing that. Turn the actual light on.

00:08:27 Frank

Right, so that's that's basically solving the same problem.

00:08:30 Frank

Right?

00:08:32 Frank

And what's interesting about this? I just realized I didn't say it out loud for folks listening on the podcast, but ultimately what happens is my words get translated into an electronic signal, right? A sign? A wave of sorts.

00:08:45 Frank

And then that is then.

00:08:47 Frank

Re on the other side, it's then sent from the speaker to the cloud, where it will turn those that sound form that sound wave back into text, right? Or words and then it'll go through and it'll parse out.

00:09:02 Frank

What I'm saying...