Barrtalk: Amazon's Alexa takes another step toward world domination

There was a time when asking your smart speaker about the weather generally resulted in a staid and steady response, along the lines of the BBC Radio 4 shipping forecast.

But now, Amazon has decided its famously polite assistant Alexa is due for a glitzy tune-up.

Alexa has been the undisputed boss of our kitchen since the beginning of covid [remember that?] – and now it seems she might be about to become even more prominent!

Enter Alexa+, an AI-powered upgrade rolling out across the UK and Ireland that promises to turn your once relatively shy kitchen companion into a fully fledged conversationalist.

Wouldn’t you just know AI would have to be involved.

Gone are the days, apparently, of blunt replies like “No rain is expected today.” Now, Alexa might chirp back something along the lines of, “Actually, you can leave the brolly at home… you’ll be sorted.” Charming? Yes. Slightly unsettling? Also yes.

The move comes as chatty AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude have raised expectations, leaving some to accuse Alexa of spending the last few years essentially working as a glorified timer.

Don’t knock the timers and reminders though; I feel like my life couldn’t function without Alexa’s constant prompts and alarms to remind me of something or other, including when to leave the sanctity of my bed in the morning, or cut the grass at my parents' house.

Jessica Miller, head of data insights at FDM/CCS Insight, reckons reactions could be “polarising” – which is analyst-speak for “some people will love it, others will ask it to please stop talking immediately.”

Still, Alexa has numbers on her side. More than half of the UK and Ireland have tried an Echo device, and there have been a staggering 114 billion interactions since 2023 – that’s roughly 1,500 per person, with some likely leaning on their devices for daily conversation.

My typically most-asked questions include the following: “Alexa, when is Man Utd’s next match?”; “What age is such-and-such a celebrity?” and “Will it rain in the next hour?”.

She’s usually bang-on with the first two queries but less so on the weather, which, in fairness, aint an exact science.

Anyway, Alexa+ will cost you a cool £19.99 a month, unless you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber, in which case your newly talkative housemate comes included.

Incidentally, I just asked the question – “Alexa, is it worth the upgrade to Alexa Plus?” and got the following reply back verbatim: “Upgrading to Alexa Plus can offer benefits like faster setup and premium support but whether it’s worth it depends. It’s best to review the features on the Alexa website to see if they match what you're looking for.”

Bit diplomatic and dull if you ask me. Time to upgrade?

Niall Horan refreshingly real despite global success

I must say singer Niall Horan came across as a very decent and well-rounded guy on the still-worth-watching Tommy Tiernan Show the other night.

The former One Direction superstar might have been the first guest to get two full segments of the RTE Saturday night show to himself, and he didn’t disappoint.

The 32-year-old artist revealed how he’s a lifelong Derby County supporter, following in the footsteps of his dad, and a fanatic for the game of golf, aside from the singing, which he’s pretty handy at too.

The Mullingar native quickly won over audiences, including this writer, with his relaxed, chatty manner and unmistakably grounded outlook.

Despite selling millions of records worldwide and performing to huge international crowds, Horan spoke candidly about his upbringing, recalling a modest childhood, the break-up of his parents when he was five, and an ordinary life in a housing estate.

His down-to-earth presence is a rare and welcome quality in someone who has operated at the highest level of the music industry. And in an era of carefully curated celebrity personas, Horan’s unscripted appearance felt refreshingly real.

So swayed was I, that I might even check out his new album ‘Dinner Party’ set for release in June.

“Alexa, what is Niall Horan’s net worth?” “Niall Horan is worth an estimated 52 million euro.” Impressive.

Everyone should read books by Jonathan Franzen

I have just finished Jonathan Franzen’s sprawling and brilliant novel ‘Freedom’, whose 600 pages I thoroughly enjoyed and flew through [by my slow standards].

Now, I realise I’m a decade-and–a-half late to the party, given that it was published in 2010, but better late than never.

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As another cliched truism goes, it really is one of those books that you never want to end and immediately miss as soon as the last page is turned.

If ever a novel made me feel like I’d been politely invited into someone else’s family drama and then refused to let me leave, it was Freedom.

This is a book that takes the idea of “ordinary lives” and quietly inflates it into something sprawling, messy, and oddly addictive.

At the centre is the Berglund family from Minnesota – decent, well-meaning, slightly chaotic people who seem determined to make every possible questionable decision while remaining convinced they’re doing their best. It’s both comforting and alarming.

US writer Franzen has an uncanny ability to zoom in on the tiny, cringe-worthy details of modern life – awkward conversations, moral compromises, questionable life choices – and make them feel as dramatic as a Shakespearean tragedy.

It’s half the size of War and Peace but you can still zoom through it [albeit it took me a month], as it remains entirely readable and engaging throughout.

Writing this good is rare. I’m already onto Franzen’s next one ‘Crossroads’, having read ‘The Corrections’ years ago – although the latter is also on the ‘to re-read’ list as I can’t remember much of it. I’m generally not a good rememberer of books, movies or TV shows once I’ve finished them, which can come in handy.

Franzen is one of a tiny handful of novelists who deserve to be read multiple times though.

“Alexa, how old is Jonathan Franzen?” “Jonathan Franzen is 66 years old.”