Amazon Adds More AI to Alexa Upgrade

Amazon’s longtime devices chief Dave Limp said Wednesday that the innovative AI, which has fueled global debates about the future of work, security and regulation, will “fuel a whole new Alexa experience” and usher in “smarter and more conversational” lives with the voice assistant.

Dave Limp, head of Amazon's devices division, will step down at the end of the year. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg

While Amazon's devices and gadgets division is a personal passion of founder Jeff Bezos, the retail giant's CEO Andy Jassy has been less enthusiastic about the division.

The Alexa team faced significant layoffs last year as executives scrutinized the product’s direct contribution to the company’s bottom line. Amazon doesn’t break out the device segment’s profit in its quarterly earnings.

While Alexa devices have been a top seller during Amazon's Prime Day sales, users often don't take advantage of the vast majority of Alexa's tens of thousands of "skills."

Meanwhile, some other hardware experiments, such as Amazon Astro, a home robot designed to pair with Alexa, and the Scout delivery robot, have failed.

At the company's device event on Wednesday, Limp revealed his vision for the future of Alexa, which he said will be powered by generative AI and based on a new, custom-built big language model.

Alexa will be able to respond to questions and commands more quickly and naturally, and the experience will be “like talking to another person,” he said.

The company says general AI-powered upgrades will also include better search functionality on Amazon's Fire TV.

Limp said that while “skeptics may not have believed” that technology would change the way people live at home when Alexa was introduced a decade ago, “the model is here to stay.”

He added that integrating general AI into devices would not compromise security or privacy, which is something the team has made a priority.

Mai Anh (according to FT)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/amazon-tang-cuong-bo-sung-ai-vao-ban-nang-cap-cua-alexa-post265513.html