
At Google I/O 2022, Google announced a litany of new features — everything from new stuff for Maps, Docs, and Translate — coming to its services. As always, if you read between the lines, it all lays the groundwork for even more ambient computing in which AI and machine learning help you understand the world around you like never before. It might even secretly be the groundwork for future AR or mixed reality.
One announcement stood out to me: Look and Talk — a way to interact with a Nest Hub Max smart display without needing to say “Hey Google” over and over. Instead, the camera-equipped Hub Max uses its built-in camera and proximity sensor to identify when a person is in front of it and to start listening for commands.