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By now, you've probably heard of The Circle—the reality show where people, isolated in their apartments, fight to win a grand prize of $100,000 based solely on their social media personalities.
The players can only interact via the voice assistant through private messages, group chats, interactive games, and status updates. Each episode, they rate each other based on photos and those interactions.
Essentially, you want to be the most liked. That way, you have the privilege of voting someone out of The Circle.
I have zero shame admitting that I became very emotionally invested in this show. (Our entertainment reporter Ali Foreman isn't such a big fan.)
And while most people on the internet are reacting to the hilarious cast, random plot twists, and the dumb quotes, I'm here to discuss one thing and one thing only: the Circle App. And how ridiculous this "voice assistant" truly is.
"Circle, show me how this thing works"
Twenty minutes into the first episode of The Circle, I couldn't help but blurt out "THERE IS NO WAY THIS VOICE ASSISTANT IS SO ADVANCED" to my empty bedroom.
Footage of me in my bed, wondering what the hell is going on with this very advanced voice assistant.Credit: Courtesy of NetflixCircle requires barely any assistance to understand commands like "show me the photo on the top right," when there are multiple photos on the top right, or to identify emoji based on very vague descriptions.
Sure, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa have come a long way. But I recently asked my Google Home for the best Thai restaurants near me and instead it started listing off the best tire shops near me.
So, you can imagine why I was a bit suspicious about Circle's advanced voice assistant. While I annoyed the hell out of Netflix to get a response on the technology behindthe Circle app, they wouldn't budge, so I got my Nancy Drew on instead.
How players use the Circle app
Let's start with how the players interact with the app.
During the first episode, they're told it's a "voice activated system." Similar to the way we'd say "Hey Google," each person says "Hey, Circle" to trigger the voice assistant.
All the tabs!!Credit: netflix/screenshotOn the side are tabs to cycle through. They each function as follows:
Home tab: Shows you a list of all the players currently in the Circle.
Messages tab: For private messages and group chats.
Lightning bolt tab: Where you can see everyone's status updates (yes, like those on Facebook).
Profile tab:To view someone's profile photo and personal information.
Album: Stores all your selfies, group pics.
Ratings: Perhaps the most nerve-racking tab, but this is where everyone can see how they ranked that week.
Games:Every now and then, the team gets to play a fun lil' game to bring them all together but also slightly tear them apart.
Whenever you want to go to a specific tab, all you do is literally tell Circle which one you'd like to go to.
Meanwhile, those who get voted out of the Circle are immediately blocked from the app. Meaning they can't use any of its features including the ability to message people.
Navigating the Circle
The hilarious part is that, unlike the Google Home or Amazon Alexa, the players aren't limited to certain phrases or vocabulary to navigate the app.
For those of you who don't have a voice assistant connected to your TV, you have to phrase the actions a specific way for it to fully understand you. These can range from "Alexa, change the channel to..." or "Hey Google, turn on my TV." None of these commands differ from person to person.
But on Circle, it is an absolute free for all. No one follows ANY rules!
Let's start with the time Miranda set up her profile.
She says to Circle, "Show me the photo in the bottom right where I have short hair," and the voice assistant pulls it up immediately. Then she goes, "I really love that photo with my knee up on the rocks so, let's go ahead and choose that as my second photo," and, as expected, the app understands right away.
Miranda saying whatever she wants to the Circle and the Circle understanding everything.Credit: Courtesy of NetflixThis same type of behavior continues with everyone else in various forms.
Like that time when Sean says, "Here's a photo of the real me," and Circle immediately knew exactly what photo to pull up. Or another time when Ed looks at Sean's profile and says, "Circle, open the photo of Sean in the red polka dotty dress."
The red polka dotty dress is definitely something a voice assistant would 100 percent understand.
A beautiful painting of Sean's red polka dotty bikini.Credit: Courtesy of NetflixMessaging inside the Circle
After discussing with co-workers, it was obvious based on little things we noticed (i.e. spelling), that someone hadto be typing behind the TV as the players spoke through their mics.
Midway through writing this story, I received a slack message with a link to the tweet below. The show's creator confirmed to Vulturethat our theory was true.
Tweet may have been deleted
While it appearsthe voice assistant is picking up commands or messages automatically, the show's creator, Tim Harcourt, explained that, behind the scenes, producers are tasked with manually transcribing what players say.
Messaging is the only time we see consistency in the voice assistant. To start texting, everyone is forced to say "Message," followed by "Send" when they're done.
Watching everyone on The Circlemessage each other is the core of the show. And while the content is hilarious, it was even funnier to watch how the voice-to-text was interpreted. And now knowing there were actual human beings behind the screen makes it even funnier.
Shooby Snack sending all his friends sweet messages in the Circle chat.Credit: Courtesy of NetflixThere were episodes where the word "yeah" would be typed differently (yea, ya, etc.) or other times when players, like Sammie, would drag out her words and Circle would only emphasize what it felt was necessary: such "tell us pleeeeeeeaseeeeee" or "goooooood morninggggg"
On one episode, Ed instructed Circle to delete words by just saying "get rid of [the word] man," as he was typing a message to Joey. On another episode, Sean specifies she wants "HEY HEY HEY" in all caps, but three exclamations points appear next to it, which is likely from the inflection in her voice that was interpreted by whoever was typing.
The only realistic interpretation was when Circle typed "kiki" (as in, a social gathering), as "key key," which is something I'd expect Google Assistant to do. But, it's also telling of how old the producer behind the screen is.
Now, let's talk about emoji. There was that time when Sammi wanted to pull up the hugging face emoji so she mimed her hands to the camera and said, "emoji with the hands." And that time when Ed asked if there's a "rock n roll" emoji and it magically appeared.
But the BEST was from the one and only Joey. To end the flirty convo with Miranda, he said (verbatim), "Strong purple guy, SEND." At which point, Circle immediately identified this as the eggplant emoji.
Quite possibly the moment leading up to Joey sending the strong purple guy emoji.Credit: Courtesy of NetflixImagine Siri having the ability to interpret any emoji based solely on your description. Like, "the nerdy emoji with the glasses" or "the smiley with the party hat and confetti." Sure, it mightshow up as a suggestion on iMessage that you can then tap on, but it doesn't just automatically appear.
My final thoughts
First and foremost, I would like anyone who has made it through this journey with me to understand that I know this show isn't meant to be taken seriously. And I'd like it known that I am absolutely obsessed with the concept and cast.
But it's tough to ignore all the low-budget technology knowing that it's possible to up the ante. Do I expect Netflix to come back in Season 2 with voice recognition? Absolutely not. However, I dohope they find ways to make it less obvious that there is a literal human sitting in some production room trying to transcribe all the messages as quickly as possible.
How the players trigger all the other features (like checking profiles, setting status updates, looking at albums, etc.) is a mystery. I wonder if a producer also makes that happen on the spot, and how much is done in post production.
I will give it to Circle, there is really barely any lag.
However, I stand by the fact that a touchscreen display wouldn't be a terrible idea. Or perhaps they can throw in some gesture controls. I mean, you can't deny it wouldn't make for some very entertaining TV.
All that being said, I'm sure I'll receive an email from Netflix soon with the following message:
BRENDA has been Blocked from The Circle.
TopicsAmazon AlexaGoogle AssistantNetflix