Share this Story : Vancouver Sun Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr

Pete McMartin: The laziness that comes with Alexa

Opinion: The voice-activated 'assistant' and its ilk stifle serendipity, discovery and … life

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.

Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.

Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.

Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.

Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.

Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account.

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.

Enjoy additional articles per month.

Get email updates from your favourite authors.

Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.

Access articles from across Canada with one account

Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments

Enjoy additional articles per month

Get email updates from your favourite authors

Sign In or Create an Account

Perched on my kitchen table, it plays any music I ask for — Jewish klezmer, Balinese gamelan, the Allman Brothers’ Statesboro Blues. Alexa delivers jazz from New Jersey’s WBGO, classical symphonies from CBC-FM, or an eclectic, world-view musical mix from Salt Spring Island’s CHIR.

It tells me when the Stilton cheesecake baking in the oven is done. It can explain why the sky is blue — not that I’ve asked. (Something about gases in the atmosphere? Dunno. Don’t care.)

It tells me jokes, all of them groaners, which I suspect are designed to endear it to me. (“What do you get when you cross a hippie with a ninja?........

© Vancouver Sun