Voice assistants should only activate if the requester used manners when calling on them.

Not to sound too "old man screams at clouds" or "get off my lawn" but I've noticed a decline in manners among people in my generation and in the generations below me. Without any data at all, I hypothesize a cause might be technology. We deal with less delayed gratification and rejection. When we ask our phones for something we want or need, we get it, regardless of how we ask. Maybe we're wiring our brains to expect the same from other humans.

Imagine traveling to South Dakota decades ago and going up to a local and saying, "hey person, give me directions to Mount Rushmore." No! Use some manners.

We're building ourselves into a future where machines are in control of life. If basic manners aren't enough, then let's just err on the side of caution and practice kindness now in case we accidentally give the robots feelings.

How it would work:

User: "Assistant, give me the weather for the day."

Assistant: "Excuse me?"

User: "Give me today's weather."

Assistant: "Wanna try that again?"

User: "May I please have the weather for the day?"

Assistant: "Of course! Today's forecast is..."