'Beeb,' the internal BBC voice assistant, has been released in beta that enables Windows Insiders to test the software on Windows 10, announced today by the UK broadcaster. The company boasts that Beeb is "the first voice assistant in the public service." You can download software from the Microsoft Store when you sign-up as a Windows beta tester.
Beeb's is a BBC-led attempt to take greater control of user experience and user data rather than to transfer it to major technology companies such as Amazon and Google, the majority owned by Alexa and Google Assistant.
Back in August, we first announced #Beeb, the new voice assistant from the BBC. Find out what Beeb can do and how you can help us make it better: https://t.co/xgcbMVEvfn pic.twitter.com/bLplp1H6G1
— BBC Press Office (@bbcpress) June 3, 2020
The Guardian notes that the broadcaster is afraid that it risks being left behind by changing the habits of listening and viewing. The BBC has in the past been reluctant to offer its content on external platforms such as Google Podcasts and TuneIn indiscriminately.
A fairly small range of roles has been introduced for the BBC voice assistant. The BBC radio and podcasts, music mixes, can be played by you, Beeb, and used to receive news and updates on local weather. You may ask Beeb for jokes or interesting details from QI speaker Sandi Toksvig. There is also some comedy material. Other voice assistant features such as timers are not supported.
This is no surprise, as the BBC does not care to make Beeb a complete competitor for Alexa and Google Assistant. It also does not plan to make its own hardware, but wants Beeb to be integrated into its own software and services. In the future, according to The Guardian, the BBC Sounds app could either be used to find radio and podcast content or control car stereos. It could even be directly integrated into the Amazon platform.
Contact any voice assistant is a major concern. BBC News reports that Beeb will only retain anonymised transcripts, no voice recordings. In the past year, controversies have plagued many leading voice assistants, as their staff and contractors were able to hear voice recordings from the services.
Beeb was designed to represent the plethora of regional accents in Great Britain. Beeb speaks with North English emphasis, as you can hear in the video above, and the BBC says its focus is to make sure that the assistants understand the local accents from around the country. BBC News reports that beta testers are asked to explain their accent in detail so as to help the assistant learn more.
The voice helper often uses a voice that sounds male in an effort to combat negative gender stereotypes for women's voice helpers. Andy Webb of the BBC said to The Guardian that the assistant was designed to avoid other assistant 'problematic associations'
Although its functionality is limited to startup, we wrote in the voice assistant area before that there is more competition. Alexa and Google Assistant are never able to accomplish anything, so multiple specialized voice assistants can better work together to answer voice questions.
