What would make you trust an AI assistant? How about a face?

Interacting with AI is fast becoming the norm, thanks to the ubiquity of Siri, Alexa, and the Google Assistant.

My morning routine starts by using the "Okay, Google" command to ask my smartphone for the latest news, and it responds with the BBC Radio 4 bulletin. During my work day, 80 percent of my searches are conducted by voice on my HP Chromebook, and I end the day with a "Goodnight, Google," which triggers a runtime routine that reads tomorrow's schedule, tells me the weather, sets my alarm for 5 a.m., and plays 60 minutes of wind-down forest sounds.

But would these interactions be more meaningful if the Google Assistant had a face? Mark Stephen Meadows thinks so. He's the founder and CEO of Botanic Technologies, and has spent 20 years working in AI, including stints at Siri creator SRI International and Xerox PARC. Read more...

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