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Is Google Home Fit For Elderly and Disabled Users? (vortex.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the ageist-technology dept.

Chances are either you or someone you know received a Google Home over the holidays. Not only are they being marketed heavily by Google but they seem to have appeared in almost every "Holiday Gift Guide" on the internet. Slashdot reader Lauren Weinstein brings up an interesting dilemma: is Google Home fit for the elderly? Weinstein writes: You cannot install or routinely maintain Google Home units without a smartphone and the Google Home smartphone app. There are no practical desktop based and/or remotely accessible means for someone to even do this for you. A smartphone on the same local Wi-Fi network as the device is always required for these purposes. This means that many elderly persons and individuals with physical or visual disabilities -- exactly the people whose lives could be greatly enhanced by Home's advanced voice query, response, and control capabilities -- are up the creek unless they have someone available in their physical presence to set up the device and make any ongoing configuration changes. Additionally, all of the "get more info" links related to Google Home responses are also restricted to the smartphone Home app.

1 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. No. by cute-boy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "OK Google, my house is on fire"
    "Playing This house is on fire by AC/DC on Google Play music"

    2nd and subsequent attempts:

    "OK Google, my house is on fire"
    "OK, I'll remember that"

    Google home has little genuine usefulness in general beyond novelty, and it is not suitable for people if they do not already have a ability to already use technology and a comprehension of it's many current limitations in consumer grade products.

    Way too much of "Sorry", and it's lack of understanding of even the simplest ability to have a conversation to learn the context of a command really makes it only a small step forwards from talking dolls for children. Even if someone does have a control device, the propensity of the system to answer on the wrong device (which lacks the functionality of the other) means if the control device is in ear-shot, it makes life even worse. Here are some examples:

    "OK Google, help I've fallen over"
    "Sorry, I don't understand"

    "OK Google, call care line"
    "Sorry I can't make calls yet"

    "OK Google, call the ambulance"
    "Sorry, I can't help with that yet"

    "OK Google, switch on the kitchen lights"
    "My apologies, I don't understand"

    Like much consumer technology, I suspect most are are destined for land fill, perhaps having provided a few moments of novelty.