See the comment above by Joe. There is a certain 'weirdness' about giving voice commands to a device in public, it feels so strange that people don't do it, and being forced to radically alter their speech tempo/patterns makes it even more uncomfortable for them.
That being said, one 'fix' here is to call your virtual assistant and talk to them on the phone. We do that now with these irritating voice mail type menu trees but at least you are talking to 'someone.' When we get to 'Ironman' level of interactivity it gets more compelling.
I don't exoect the 'weirdness' to be that much of a hang-up. Things that feel awkward take remarkably little time to stop feeling awkward if you just do them a few times[1][2]. And if the pay-off is big enough, as great voice control would be, I think people would be willing to overcome the initial awkward hurdle.
Also, kids are much less set in their ways, and would grow up thinking talking to computers is completely normal and not give a second thought.
[1] Try this: The next time you're standing somewhere with nothing in your hands (maybe in line, or waiting for a bus), just stand up straight, feet parallel, arms hanging by your side. I started doing this and it felt so strange; I badly wanted to put my hands in my pockets, or cross my arms, or shift onto one foot. I have no idea why. But after a day or two of it, now it feels normal, and, in fact, better than it felt to stand with hands in pockets before.
[2] Or try this: If you order something from Starbucks or McDonald's or whatever, mix up your standard phrase. I used to always order, "Can I get a..." and now say "I would like ... please". That, too, was very strange to me, but now feels normal.
So basically, little things can feel awkward, but that goes away with remarkably little experience pushing through the awkwardness.
> See the comment above by Joe. There is a certain 'weirdness' about giving voice commands to a device in public, it feels so strange that people don't do it
So at Google they stuffed people 4 to a cube. Lots of people have open floor plans. Most people turn off their speakers (and miss meetings because of it) because the noise is distracting. Imagine them all saying 'computer, start the debugger on that core file.'
Like you I have seen a lot of Star Trek, it took a world class UX designer to point out to me that every time someone gave voice commands to the computer everyone else in the area had to be silent. There was even a little cultural thing going on, the captain says "Computer" in a loud voice, every one shuts up, and then he gives it some command. I did not pick up that insight on my own, it was pointed out to me and now when I see it in action I chuckle.
That being said, one 'fix' here is to call your virtual assistant and talk to them on the phone. We do that now with these irritating voice mail type menu trees but at least you are talking to 'someone.' When we get to 'Ironman' level of interactivity it gets more compelling.