The radio programme Spitsuur on BNR News Radio called PhD candidate Anouk Mols to talk about how smart speakers are increasingly becoming well-known worldwide, and in the Netherlands. Anouk researches the relationship between people and their digital assistants.
A few months ago smart speakers became available in the Netherlands. In the radio show, the hosts ask Anouk if it has gained any popularity in the Netherlands since then. She says that to fully experience the use(fulness) of smart speakers, you need to link quite a number of products to it, such as the lights in your house and your smart TV. Anouk thinks that people are currently waiting for more products to come on the market, so that the smart speaker can be used to its full potential, and people can start making each other enthusiastic about smart speakers and its benefits in daily life.
They also talked about how people may be scared to use these smart devices. According to Anouk's research, people in the Netherlands are more scared than people from, for instance, America, to use a smart speaker due to worries about getting hacked, or about interactions with the device being recorded and sold to third parties. However, she says that we don't have to be that scared, "but we do have to examine how these devices influence our decisions when it comes to privacy."
You can listen to the (Dutch) interview here. For more information about her research, please read this article.