Dave Limp, senior vp of gadgets and companies at Amazon.com Inc., speaks through the Amazon Gadgets and Providers occasion on the HQ2 campus in Arlington, Virginia, US, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023.
Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Amazon launched a “smarter and extra conversational” model of its Alexa voice assistant that the corporate hopes will bolster its place within the tech trade’s synthetic intelligence race.
The corporate hosts an annual gadgets bonanza, the place it usually unveils a smattering of recent {hardware} and software program merchandise. In his last keynote tackle on the occasion on Wednesday, Amazon’s gadgets chief Dave Limp confirmed off a demo of an up to date Alexa that is freshly geared up with options powered by generative AI.
Limp, a 13-year veteran of Amazon, plans to step down from his function later this yr.
From an occasion area at its new second headquarters in northern Virginia, Amazon confirmed a montage by which Alexa customers have been seen asking an Echo good speaker for data such because the “greatest dates to journey to Puerto Rico.” One man requested that Alexa inform him a narrative about balloons, earlier than abruptly altering his thoughts and asking for a story about Jell-O.
There have been a number of hiccups throughout Limp’s demo. At occasions, Alexa lagged in its response, and at a number of factors, Limp needed to repeat his query to get a solution.
Amazon calls the brand new characteristic “Let’s chat,” and mentioned will probably be accessible as an “early preview” for current Echo homeowners within the coming weeks.
The brand new Alexa can have a extra humanlike voice and is ready to maintain extra pure conversations with out being prompted by a wake phrase. It can additionally study customers with every new interplay.
Much like ChatGPT or different generative AI purposes, Alexa will be capable to compose messages for customers and ship them on their behalf. For instance, Amazon confirmed an invite that Alexa wrote to a pal, asking the particular person to return over for a soccer sport.
Rohit Prasad, a senior vp at Amazon and head scientist overseeing generative AI, gave one other sports activities instance.
“The Crimson Sox are my favourite crew,” Prasad mentioned. “Think about in the event that they received, then Alexa would reply in a joyful voice. In the event that they misplaced, will probably be empathetic to me.”
Amazon previewed methods it is utilizing AI to higher function good houses. With upcoming Alexa updates, customers will be capable to make extra conversational requests, like asking the voice assistant to make their lights “look spooky” or say “Alexa, there is a mess in right here,” prompting a robotic vacuum to change on and suck up crumbs.
Limp employed the phrase “AI hallucinations,” a time period that describes errors made by AI fashions, to clarify how Alexa would do higher.
“It might be extremely irritating if it hallucinated and turned on the flawed mild over and over,” Limp mentioned, including that Amazon’s AI fashions are fine-tuned to have the ability to work with varied good dwelling purposes, in order that when “you ask it to activate the lounge mild, it is capable of execute that accurately.”
Amazon additionally debuted new {hardware}, together with an up to date Echo Present 8 good speaker. The gadget makes use of laptop imaginative and prescient to regulate its show based mostly on the place the person is standing in a room. In the event that they’re farther away, it’s going to present fewer objects on display screen, however as they transfer nearer, it’s going to present extra detailed data. Amazon mentioned the gadget prices $150 and can ship in October.
It additionally unveiled a $120 Hearth TV sound bar that is accessible beginning Wednesday, and two new Hearth TV Sticks that the corporate says are sooner and have upgraded processors.
Amazon confirmed a brand new characteristic coming to the Alexa App and Echo Hubs, referred to as Map View, which is basically a digital flooring plan of a person’s dwelling. The characteristic is designed to make it less complicated for customers to handle their good dwelling gadgets. It might additionally present a wealth of worthwhile information for Amazon to grasp how folks set up their good dwelling. Amazon says it is opt-in solely, and customers choose which rooms they need to add to their flooring plan. They’re capable of delete the info at any time.
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