Get ready for the whisper-filled office of the future

Get ready for the whisper-filled office of the future
How will work setups change if we spend more and more time talking to our computers? A recent feature in the Wall Street Journal looks at the rising popularity of dictation apps like Wispr, especially now that they can be connected to vibe-coding tools, and what that might mean for office etiquette.

<p id="speakable-summary" class="wp-block-paragraph">How will work setups change if we spend more and more time talking to our computers? A recent feature <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/typing-is-being-replaced-by-whisperingand-its-way-more-annoying-a804fee7">in the Wall Street Journal</a> looks at the rising popularity of dictation apps like Wispr, especially now that they can be connected to vibe-coding tools, and what that might mean for office etiquette.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">One VC said that visiting startup offices now feels like stepping into a high-end call center. And <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/20/gustos-head-of-technology-says-hiring-an-army-of-specialists-is-the-wrong-approach-to-ai/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Gusto co-founder Edward Kim</a> is apparently telling his team that in the future, offices will sound “more like a sales floor.” (As someone still scarred from the time his desk was briefly relocated to a sales floor, let me say: Oh no.)</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Kim claimed that he only types now when he absolutely has to. But he admitted that constantly dictating in the office can be “just a little awkward.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Similarly, AI entrepreneur Mollie Amkraut Mueller said her husband became annoyed with her new habit of whispering to her computer, so their late-night work sessions now involve sitting apart, or “one of us will stay in our office.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But Wispr founder Tanay Kothari insisted that this will all seem “normal” one day, just as it’s become normal to spend hours staring at your phone.</p>