Offloading Memory

CNET just wrote a piece about how the Google Home’s real killer app is reminders. This is a smart piece. It’s very true that we are bad at remembering where little trinkets are and often have more trouble recalling where they when we actually need them.

The solution CNET proposes is telling your Google Home about everything. “OK Google… remember that I put my passport in the top drawer” or “OK Google… remember that the ketchup is in the back of the fridge”. And so on…

These little notes can be a life saver for the elderly or those with memory illnesses. “OK Google… remember that I took my yellow pill this morning.”

Reminder Rosie was/is a programmable clock that was designed to help with memory but isn’t as dynamics as the Google Home.

The real magic of the Google Home is if it could combine with machine vision processed through a Nestcam to remember for us where we placed everything. If we’re open to it, perhaps continuous speech recognition could also remind us what we said and to who we said it. These seem absurd now but likely within 10 years, we’ll be considering them normal.