Will Amazon’s artificial intelligence make Alexa a reliable interlocutor?
Amazon lifts the veil on the new Alexa "pumped" by artificial intelligence algorithms and promises great things. But the usual problems and mistrusts remain on the table
Amazon is also entering the competition of artificial intelligence but, he clarified, to do something very different from what was seen with ChatGpt. The giant founded by Jeff Bezos, which has penetrated the homes of millions of users with the hi-tech ears of Alexa ( sometimes even to the detriment of user privacy ), intends to continue exploring the home automation sector, at least as reported by The Verge , who interviewed Dave Limp , Amazon's senior vice president of devices and services.
SUPER ALEXA COMING SOON?
If the idea of talking to a jar doesn't seem too funny or sad to you, soon, thanks to the miracles of artificial intelligence, it will be possible to have real conversations with your helpful home assistant.
For example, it will be enough to say "Alexa, something spilled on the floor" to see the vacuum cleaner robot activate, in a futuristic but increasingly close and credible scenario. In short, for the Seattle giant it is the best way to reach the tenth anniversary, with an upgrade that effectively reinvents the way we relate to the device.
The demo – as reported by TechCrunch – on the possibilities offered by an Alexa 'pumped' by artificial intelligence algorithms, was the protagonist of a session held in Arlington, Virginia, in one of Amazon's offices. For the moment the changes will gradually affect Echo devices in the United States and the timing for the extension to other countries is unclear. With generative AI, as anticipated, Alexa should take on an even more open attitude to conversation, even responding with changes in tone. Limp explained that it is not something similar to ChatGPT or Bard, precisely because the focus will be on having a home assistant that is increasingly attentive to the user's needs.
ALEXA, LIKE ANY AI, FEEDS OFF INFORMATION (OURS)
Alexa, feeding on real-time information on users' habits, preferences and tastes, will go out of its way to even anticipate requests. “For example, you could say 'Alexa every morning at 8, turn on the coffee machine, open the shutters, dim the lights in the study and listen to the morning news' and thus create a routine”, without then having to repeat the same commands every day on the little robot announced Limp.
Daniel Rausch , the executive responsible for Alexa, stressed that the AI will place a particular emphasis on accuracy and that its efforts are not comparable to those of chatbots which have been shown to produce inaccuracies. “Precision in the smart home means we have turned on the right light, we have closed the right door, we are sure of the state of the security system,” he underlined, but did not add any details on privacy.
OLD PROBLEMS AND NEW ISSUES
We have already spoken on several occasions about the fact that Alexa and other home assistants record or have recorded in the past fragments of more or less complete conversations , focusing above all on aspects related to privacy (read also: Google will have to stop spying on European users ). Now we need to understand if the increasingly advanced conversations will be immediately thrown away or if traces of them will remain on some server. Until then, it's fine to spend your afternoon talking to a jar, but it's better not to elect it as the custodian of your secrets…
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/lintelligenza-artificiale-di-amazon-rendera-alexa-un-interlocutore-affidabile/ on Thu, 21 Sep 2023 14:28:54 +0000.