

I degoogled (mostly) a while ago, but home assistant has a pretty configurable local voice assistant. If you have remote access to your server, I imagine you could cobble together a good keyword based personal assistant that sets alarms, turns lights on and off, and reads you an RSS newsfeed while you drink your morning coffee.
We’re truly on the technological downslope now. First it was all about the user and making software accomplish a purpose, then it was all about the user as long as it was profitable, now it’s fuck the user - be profitable.
I imagine there are also some low level cops relieved to see them gone but don’t want to say so publicly. After all, AI is coming for their jobs too. Pretty soon buying a state patrolman a Honda Goldwing to patrol the highway will be an impossible sell when we could just strap a few more cameras to a pole or fly a drone. Everyone but the bootlickiest of the bootlickers will eventually hit their breaking point with this increasing public surveillance, just not until it goes poorly for them personally.