The decades-long journey in speech recognition software hit a milestone in 1997, when Dragon Systems launched Dragon NaturallySpeaking: the first consumer product allowing continuous speech dictation. It was Apple’s introduction of Siri in 2011, however, that gave most people their first experience of a computer talking back. Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, Samsung’s Bixby, and an ever-expanding cast of AI-enabled assistants have since joined the ranks.

From household appliances like washing machines and refrigerators, to electronics like smart TVs and security devices, to native in-car systems, voice interaction permeates our most intimate spaces. For those who have grown up in this environment, it’s a given that technology is encoded into everyday tasks, moves at the speed of thought, and responds in human language. Especially if we’ve grown up addressing Siri or Alexa as the ambient intelligence in the room—or in our pocket—we understand that command is, in fact, discourse, and that technology serves to expedite our day-to-day tasks.