Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, will be equipped with generative artificial intelligence (AI), the company announced on Wednesday, signaling its entry into the race to use this technology from the e-commerce and cloud giant.
Voice assistants like Alexa or Siri (Apple) are often considered perfect candidates for integration with programs like ChatGPT because they are able to interact with people in natural language and produce all types of content on demand.
Thanks to generative AI, Alexa will be able to compose a message to a contact or a recipe based on the ingredients available to the user – all with a simple verbal command in the living room or kitchen.
“It will take time to integrate these technologies into the Alexa ecosystem,” admitted Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, during a presentation in Washington.
“But I am very optimistic and think we are off to a good start,” he added.
An English-language version of Alexa AI will be available as an option on all Amazon devices (like the Echo smart speakers) in the US in the coming months.
Alexa, Siri and even Google Assistant have seen little development in recent years and have not become very profitable products. They are primarily used for weather forecasting, playing music or controlling household appliances.
AFP
But the generative AI race, dominated by ChatGP (OpenAI), Google and Microsoft, could change the situation.
According to Dave Limp, thanks to the latest generation of AI, Alexa will soon be able to abandon its robotic tone and establish a certain personal relationship with users, in particular by informing them about their habits or their favorite sports teams.
“For example, you could say, ‘Alexa, every morning at 8 a.m., turn on the coffee maker, open the blinds, dim the office lights, and play the morning news,’ and voilà, a routine is created,” he said. he detailed.
Daniel Rausch, head of Alexa, told reporters that Amazon will place more emphasis on AI accuracy to avoid the risk of inappropriate and made-up responses when interacting with ChatGPT or Bard (Google).
“Accuracy in a connected home means we have the right light on, the right door locked and the status of the security system,” he said.
Amazon also unveiled its latest centralized device control device (the Echo 8), as well as a TV speaker and new AI-powered search tools for its FireTV service.