The future is now

11 examples of how voice assistants are reshaping the way we communicate

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For millions of people around the world, voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant have become part of daily routines, but they are also quietly changing the way we speak. From how we phrase questions to the words we choose, these digital helpers are introducing subtle changes in everyday language. As our use of these devices increases, the amount of time we spend talking to them will likely increase as well. Here are 12 ways voice assistants are influencing the way we communicate.

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The first and probably most noticeable example of how voice assistants change the way we speak has to do with the shift to more imperative sentences when making requests.

For example, instead of saying, "Can you please set a timer for me?" people now tend to default to concise, direct commands like, "Set a timer for 10 minutes." We use imperative sentences rather than polite or indirect forms.

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Since voice assistants are, essentially, robots that break up commands into simple concepts to process them effectively, we tend to simplify and rephrase the way we speak by using key terms the assistant is more likely to understand.

For example, instead of saying, "Can you put on something jazzy?" people often default to a concise command like, "Play jazz music."

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Another common trait when speaking to machines is that we tend to repeat similar structures, since voice assistants do not handle follow-up context as well as humans do.

For example, someone might say, "What’s the weather today? What’s the weather tomorrow?"

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This is possibly one of the most positive effects on the list. When speaking to a voice assistant, people tend to slow down and articulate more clearly, a habit that sometimes carries over into their regular speech.

For example, someone might deliberately separate words, saying, "Call… Mom," for a clearer enunciation.

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Wake words—those commands used to "wake up" a voice assistant, such as "Hey Siri" or "Alexa"—are increasingly entering casual conversation and humor.

For example, people might jokingly say, "Okay Google, make me a sandwich," to someone, or, "Hey Siri, can you take the dog out for a walk?"

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Another notable language shift is the tendency to use more formal, literal phrasing when speaking to machines, a habit that sometimes carries over into everyday conversation.

For example, someone might say, "Give me the details," instead of the slangier, "Gimme the deets," when interacting with a voice assistant.

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Even though artificial intelligence is making machine speech more natural, voice assistants do not always accurately interpret the exact meaning of our commands. As a result, people tend to adopt more mechanical, concise speech patterns to communicate more efficiently with these devices.

For example, someone might say, "Add milk to the shopping list," instead of a longer phrasing like, "Can you remind me to buy milk later?"

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Voice assistants typically use a neutral tone, without regional accents. As a result, people with strong accents or regional dialects may adjust their speech toward more "standard" English to be understood.

This can involve modifying pronunciation or vocabulary—for example, saying "elevator" instead of "lift" in certain regions.

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In line with some of the previous situations, the simplification of commands encourages the removal of hedges and conversational words in favor of more precise, direct questions.

For example, instead of saying, "Do you know how tall Mount Everest is?" someone might simply ask, "How tall is Mount Everest?"

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People have learned to anticipate how machines interpret language and adjust in real time, demonstrating a growing linguistic adaptability fostered by our interactions with voice assistants.

For example, someone might start by saying, "Call Sam," but then change it to, "Call Samantha, mobile," when they realize the assistant may not understand the initial command.

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While casual conversations with humans often rely on pronouns and shared context, voice assistants require more explicit information. Users tend to over-specify to compensate for the assistant’s limited contextual memory.

For example, someone might say, "Send message to John: I’ll be late," instead of the more natural, "Tell him I’m running late."

10 eye-opening statistics that reveal the truth about our planet

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Ever read a stat and think, there’s no way that’s true? The world runs on numbers, and some statistics are so staggering they demand a second look. From the real scale of population growth over time to our unlikely kinship with bananas, these 10 facts will certainly challenge how you view modern life, the planet, and even time itself.

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You read that right! That’s the estimated mass of all the electrons moving through the internet at any given moment. It’s based on how many electrons are needed to transfer data in modern systems.

Each bit of data is made up of subatomic particles with mass. When you add up all global internet activity, it translates to roughly 50 grams—or the weight of a couple of larger-than-average strawberries.

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According to estimates from the Population Reference Bureau, about 117 billion humans have ever lived. That means nearly 93% of all people who’ve ever lived are no longer alive.

Our current 8.1 billion makes up a small slice of history’s total human population. It’s a reminder that most human experiences happened long before us—and modern life is the exception, not the rule.

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According to IBM, every two days, we create more data than from the dawn of civilization to 2003. By 2020, 90% of the world’s data had been created in just the prior two years.

That rate continues to accelerate thanks to smartphones, automated sensors, and social media. We’re now generating 328 million terabytes every day.

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Most of the world’s fresh water is locked in ice. The Antarctic ice sheet contains about 26.5 million cubic kilometers of water.

If it all melted, global sea levels would rise by over 200 feet, submerging many major coastal cities.

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Google’s infrastructure consumes massive energy to deliver instant results. In fact, a single Google search uses more computing power than the entire Apollo 11 mission.

To put it in perspective, the Apollo Guidance Computer ran at just 0.043 MHz, while today’s smartphones are over 100,000 times faster. So, next time you forget the recipe for apple pie, remember: you’re holding the power to reach the Moon in your pocket!

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It’s not as weird as it sounds. All living organisms share the same genetic building blocks, so some overlap is inevitable.

This shared 60% refers to common cellular functions encoded by similar genes. With chimps, for example, we share about 98.8%, but plants still overlap more than you'd expect.

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Through nuclear fusion, the Sun converts mass into energy, losing about 4 million tons every second. This sacrificial process powers the entire solar system.

Even at that rate, the Sun will continue burning for another 5 billion years, illustrating just how massive it is. It’s still crazy to think that all life on Earth is powered by a natural, open-air nuclear reactor.

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Bet this catches you off guard: NASA estimates there are around 100–400 billion stars in our galaxy. But, surprisingly, trees far outnumber them—Earth has over 3 trillion trees, according to a Yale study.

That’s roughly 422 trees for every person. Yet, deforestation continues at a staggering rate of 15 billion trees per year. Imagine how the night sky would look if 15 billion stars went missing every year.

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Despite covering over 70% of Earth’s surface, most of the ocean hasn’t been mapped or even explored.

The NOAA estimates we’ve only mapped about 25% of the seafloor in detail. In comparison, we’ve mapped the surface of Mars much more thoroughly.

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Genghis Khan is believed to have fathered hundreds of children, with estimates suggesting that around 1 in 200 men alive today carry his genetic legacy.

In fact, a genetic study revealed that nearly 0.5% of the world’s male population shares a Y chromosome that traces back to him. His empire, spanning much of Asia and Europe, was built on unprecedented conquest—and even today, his genetic influence can still be felt around the globe.