New internet devices that use voice are starting to appear in our homes: you speak and they answer back. So what is the likely impact of these so-called digital assistants?

The BBC is looking into the possibilities while independent developers are already creating content for such devices.

"It is an opportunity for those of us who are producing content because every platform that is hungry for content has to be filled.” – Flora Graham

In this podcast you will learn:

- how digital assistants work

We also put two devices through their paces, challenging them to translate a sentence into German and to "tell me something interesting".

The BBC Academy's Charles Miller speaks to Henry Cooke, senior development producer at BBC Research & Development, independent technology developer Robin Jewsbury and New Scientist digital editor Flora Graham.