Well, by now you probably know I love living in the future. I can’t seem to read a book made out of paper anymore, I’m totally obsessed with electronic books. And now I’m talking to my gadgets.

And they’re listening.

Like many things, it started as a mistake. I was playing golf on my Xbox, and I accidentally changed the club with something I said (it was not, by the way, “Change club.”). I found the experience unnerving, knowing that my Xbox was listening to me.

Then I got a new phone that has voice commands. What the heck, I thought, I’ll try it. So I did.

And it worked. Well, sort of. It understands some things, but not others. I tried to get it to find an Ethiopian restaurant recently, and it thought I wanted a COPD restaurant. Whatever that might be. Maybe they don’t smoke meats there or something.

Back to the Xbox. I found out I could watch Amazon Prime videos through the Xbox, which was exciting, since I had to stream through the computer previously. So I started watching, and suddenly pressing a button seemed far too burdensome. So, lazing back on the couch like some kind of royalty, I commanded my Xbox to open Amazon Instant Video. And it listened.

Sometimes it listens too well, like when I’m not actually talking to it. It can be a tad bit on the nosy side. But it amazes me that it works.

As long as it doesn’t start talking back.

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