When and why did talking to a computer - a smart phone, even - become part of the process?

I'm trying to recall whether we ever made it a practice to speak to inanimate objects before - radios, television sets, kitchen appliances, and the like - and I can think of none.

Although I'm thinking that someone a whole lot smarter than me has been working on a device that will be able to talk back to us.

What say you?

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