Google Assistant recently started predicting its favorites for the upcoming 89th Academy Awards, commonly referred to as the Oscars. The annual awards ceremony organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is taking place tomorrow, and the Mountain View-based tech giant apparently decided to have some fun by updating its digital assistant with a number of answers to questions about who’ll win the latest iteration of the most prestigious filmmaking awards on the planet.
When asked, Google Assistant says that it’s hoping Arrival will win the Best Picture award because the assistant apparently “loved those aliens.” Likewise, Google’s AI companion is impressed with the energy Denzel Washington displayed in his drama Fences, which is why it’s hoping that the 62-year-old will win this year’s Academy Award for the Best Actor. Google Assistant also seems to be rooting for Ruth Negga to win the Best Actress award because it believes her performance in the romantic drama Loving was “inspiring.” However, the assistant says that whoever wins the Best Actress award this year will deserve it. Regarding the Best Supporting Actor award, Google Assistant would prefer Mahershala Ali gets it for his role in Moonlight as it deems his performance small but impactful, jokingly adding how being small and impactful is exactly what it’s trying to become and can therefore relate to Ali’s character. Finally, Google’s digital helper is rooting for Naomie Harris to win the Best Supporting Actress award because it apparently admires her work ethic seeing how Harris successfully shot all of her scenes for Moonlight in only three days.
Coincidentally or not, Google Assistant has no specific answer when asked about the Best Animated Short Film category in which Google’s very own Spotlight Story Pearl received a nomination and became the first VR film ever to be nominated for an Oscar. Instead, the assistant only offers to search the Internet for your query, like it usually does when it isn’t sure how to answer your question. You can experience this Easter egg for yourself regardless of whether you’re communicating with Google Assistant through the Google Home smart speaker, Google Pixel phones, or the Allo messenger. Amazon’s Alexa is also currently predicting winners of this year’s Oscars but doesn’t seem to agree with Google Assistant’s picks.