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1 What Is Voice-First Computing? Introduction Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant are hot trends these days. Sales of smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home are going strong, with nearly 20% of U.S. adults having access to one as of January 2018.1 That’s about 47.3 million people. The adoption rate has been stunning, reaching that number in only 2 years. It took 13 years for televisions to reach that many people and 4 years for internet access to reach the same number.2 Perhaps you have one of these devices and enjoy using it for basic tasks like playing music and getting weather reports. On the other hand, maybe you’re one of those who say that you will never allow a listening device into your home, let alone pay to be spied on! In this guide, you will learn about the privacy and ethical issues, as well as the benefits of voice computing. You’ll look at how it’s especially useful for people in hands-free situations and in the workplace and for people with vision impairments or mobility impairments. You’ll look at typical tasks, the various