LISTENING MACHINES: HOW SMART SPEAKERS UNDERSTAND US

N just a few short years, smart speakers have evolved from futuristic novelties to everyday companions, quietly listening on kitchen counters and bedside tables.

- HRITHIK KIRAN BAGADE

Devices like Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, and Apple’s HomePod have become the modern household’s invisible helpers — playing music, setting reminders, dimming lights, or answering questions with casual ease. But behind that friendly voice lies a complex web of artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and cloud computing that allows a machine to understand — and respond to —human speech.