Amazon empowers Alexa with generative AI

ARLINGTON, United States — Amazon’s popular Alexa digital assistant is about to be supercharged with the powers of generative artificial intelligence, the company said on Wednesday, as the tech giant steps into the AI race dominated by ChatGPT, Google and Microsoft.

Voice assistants like Alexa or Apple's Siri are often designated as perfect candidates to have their sometimes-glitchy and robot-like technology streamlined with capabilities of generative AI.

Generative AI, such as used in the ChatGPT chatbot, delivers content as complex as a poem or scholarly essay in just seconds, and Amazon's goal is that Alexa could do that and even more with verbal commands from a user's living room or kitchen.

At an event at the company's offices near Washington, the company said that an English-language version of Alexa AI would be made available as an opt-in on all its devices in the United States in the coming months.

"It's going to take some time to integrate these technologies into the surface area that is Alexa. But I am super optimistic that we are off to a wonderful an excellent start," said Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of devices and services.

With the change, Alexa will be able to converse with a more personable style and drop its robotic tone, the company said.

Alexa would also tap into real-time information and create the semblance of a personal rapport with users that would include an awareness of their habits or favorite sports teams.

"For example, you could say 'Alexa every morning at 8 am turn on the coffee machine, open the blinds, dim the lights in the study and play my morning news,' and boom -- it creates the routine," Limp said.

While widely plugged as the next stage of consumer technology, in the past decade Alexa and its connected smart home devices have yet to become big money spinners for Amazon, with Google and Apple also struggling to make traction in the space.

Daniel Rausch, the executive in charge of Alexa, told reporters that the AI would put an extra emphasis on accuracy and that its efforts in AI were not comparable with chatbots that have been shown to output inaccuracies or go off the rails.

"Accuracy in smart home means yes, we did turn on the right light, we did lock the right door, we are sure about the state of the security system," he said.

At the launch event, Amazon also introduced its latest Echo 8 smart home hub as well as a soundbar for televisions and new AI-fueled search capabilities on its FireTV service.

Limp, Amazon's longtime device chief, is retiring after more than a decade in the role amid reports he will be replaced by a senior executive from Microsoft.

Agence France-Presse 

Apple, Google pause review of audio recordings from voice assistants

Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.'s Google have globally suspended reviewing recordings from users interacting with their voice assistants, as concerns over data privacy mount.

Apple said on Friday it had paused the program called "grading," where it reviewed anonymized recordings of conversations people had with its Siri voice assistant.

The decision comes after the Guardian last week reported that the company's contractors tasked with reviewing the recordings regularly heard confidential information and private conversations.

Increased public and political scrutiny of data privacy practices have forced greater transparency from Silicon Valley companies, with Google pausing reviews of audio recordings from its Google assistant service for all purposes in all languages, after a leak of Dutch audio data.

Proposals being weighed by lawmakers in the United States and elsewhere would limit how internet companies track and distribute consumer information as voice assistants such as Siri and Amazon.com Inc's Alexa become a bigger part of people's everyday lives.

"While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally," an Apple spokesperson said in a statement, adding that users would be able to opt out of the program in a future software update.

Contractors graded Siri's answers to user queries as part of efforts to perform quality checks, the Guardian reported. They also looked at whether the response was triggered accidentally, the newspaper said.

Users can turn off storing audio data to their Google account completely, or choose to auto-delete data after every 3 months or 18 months, a Google spokesperson told Reuters.

Amazon also said it allows users to opt-out of having their voice recordings used to help develop new Alexa features.

The company will update the information provided to customers to make the practices more clear, an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Microsoft Corp. did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of reviews from its Cortana voice assistant.

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Apple halts Siri response grading program after privacy concerns

Apple Inc said on Friday it suspended its global program where it analyzed recordings from users interacting with its voice assistant Siri, after some privacy concerns were raised about the program.

Apple's decision comes in the light of a report from in Guardian last week which said the company's contractors around the globe tasked with reviewing the recordings regularly heard confidential information and private conversations.

"While we conduct a thorough review, we are suspending Siri grading globally," an Apple spokeswoman said in a statement, adding that in a future software update, users will be able to opt out of the program.

Siri, Apple's iconic voice assistant, allows users to work their iPhone without using their hands, and can send messages, make calls and open multiple applications with voice commands alone.

Consumers have become accustomed to calling out names for popular voice assistants, such as Amazon.com Inc's Alexa, Google Inc's Google Assistant, among others.

In an effort to perform quality checks and improve the voice assistant's responses, contractors graded Siri's answers to user queries, the Guardian reported. They also looked at whether the response was triggered accidentally, without a deliberate query from the user, the newspaper said.

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Amazon digital assistant Alexa gets new skill: amnesia

SAN FRANCISCO -- Amazon on Wednesday added the ability to tell its Alexa digital assistant to forget what it has heard in a move that could assuage concerns about Echo devices remembering conversations.

The command "Alexa, delete everything I said today" will get the virtual aide to do just that, the internet colossus said in an online post.

Amazon added it was working on narrowing the command to ordering Alexa to delete what was just said.

Alexa is the brains in voice-controlled Echo smart speakers, which feature microphones.

Concerns have been raised that internet-linked smart speakers with built-in microphones or cameras could snoop on private conversations or moments.

The new feature will be added to an Alexa privacy hub that provides controls for information shared with or by Echo devices, which also allow microphones and cameras to be turned off.

Microphones and cameras on Echo smart speakers can also be turned off.

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Siri and Alexa virtual assistants fuel sexism, UN finds

Why do most virtual assistants that are powered by artificial intelligence — like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa system — by default have female names, female voices and often a submissive or even flirtatious style?

The problem, according to a new report released this week by UNESCO, stems from a lack of diversity within the industry that is reinforcing problematic gender stereotypes.

“Obedient and obliging machines that pretend to be women are entering our homes, cars and offices,” Saniye Gulser Corat, UNESCO’s director for gender equality, said in statement. “The world needs to pay much closer attention to how, when and whether AI technologies are gendered and, crucially, who is gendering them.”

One particularly worrying reflection of this is the “deflecting, lackluster or apologetic responses” that these assistants give to insults.

The report borrows its title — “I’d Blush if I Could” — from a standard response from Siri, the Apple voice assistant, when a user hurled a gendered expletive at it. When a user tells Alexa, “You’re hot,” her typical response has been a cheery, “That’s nice of you to say!”

Siri’s response was recently altered to a more flattened “I don’t know how to respond to that,” but the report suggests that the technology remains gender biased, arguing that the problem starts with engineering teams that are staffed overwhelmingly by men.

“Siri’s ‘female’ obsequiousness — and the servility expressed by so many other digital assistants projected as young women — provides a powerful illustration of gender biases coded into technology products,” the report found.

Amazon’s Alexa, named for the ancient library of Alexandria, is unmistakably female. Microsoft’s Cortana was named after an AI character in the Halo video game franchise that projects itself as a sensuous, unclothed woman. Apple’s Siri is a Norse name that means “beautiful woman who leads you to victory.” The Google Assistant system, also known as Google Home, has a gender-neutral name, but the default voice is female.

Baked into their humanized personalities, though, are generations of problematic perceptions of women. These assistants are putting a stamp on society as they become common in homes across the world, and can influence interactions with real women, the report warns. As the report puts it, “The more that culture teaches people to equate women with assistants, the more real women will be seen as assistants — and penalized for not being assistant-like.”

Apple and Google declined to comment on the report. Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The publication — the first to offer United Nations recommendations regarding the gendering of AI technologies — urged tech companies and governments to stop making digital assistants female by default and explore developing a gender-neutral voice assistant, among other guidance.

The systems are a reflection of broader gender disparities within the technology and AI sectors, UNESCO noted in the report, which was released in conjunction with the government of Germany and the Equals Skills Coalition, which promotes gender balance in the technology sector.

Women are grossly underrepresented in artificial intelligence, making up 12 percent of AI researchers and 6 percent of software developers in the field.

The report noted that technology companies justify the use of female voices by pointing to studies that showed consumers preferred female voices to male ones. But lost in that conversation is research showing that people like the sound of a male voice when it is making authoritative statements, but a female voice when it is being “helpful,” further perpetuating stereotypes.

Experts say bias baked into AI and broader disparities within the programming field are not new — pointing to an inadvertently sexist hiring tool developed by Amazon and facial recognition technology that misidentified black faces as examples.

“It’s not always malicious bias, it’s unconscious bias, and lack of awareness that this unconscious bias exists, so it’s perpetuated,” said Allison Gardner, a co-founder of Women Leading in AI. “But these mistakes happen because you do not have the diverse teams and the diversity of thought and innovation to spot the obvious problems in place.”

But the report offers guidance for education and steps to address the issues, which equality advocates have long pushed for.

Gardner’s organization works to bring women working in AI together with business leaders and politicians to discuss the ethics, bias and potential for legislative frameworks to develop the industry in a way that is more representative.

The group has published its own list of recommendations for building inclusive artificial intelligence, among them establishing a regulatory body to audit algorithms, investigate complaints and ensure bias is taken into account in the development of new technology.

“We need to change things now, because these things are being implemented now,” Gardner said, pointing to the rapid spread of AI-powered virtual assistants. “We are writing the standards now that will be used in the future.”

Gardner said that changes are also needed in education, because the bias was a symptom of systemic underrepresentation within a male-dominated field.

“The whole structure of the subject area of computer science has been designed to be male-centric, right down to the very semantics we use,” she said.

Although women now have more opportunities in computer science, more are disappearing from the field as they advance in their careers, a trend known as the “leaky pipeline” phenomenon.

“I would say they are actually being forced out by a rather female-unfriendly environment and culture,” Gardner said. “It’s the culture that needs to change.”

2019 New York Times News Service

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Side-by-side: Google Home versus Amazon Echo

Thinking of getting a smart speaker for your home? Our resident tech expert makes a point-by-point comparison of the two most popular brands.

The smart home has been one of the great tech dreams for decades. The marketing and media of the 60s and 70s were filled with the promise of kitchen computers, while World’s Fairs and even cartoons like The Jetsons described robots that fulfilled homeowners’ every beck and call.

While we don’t quite yet have metal maids that can cook for us, the rest of the smart home dream is becoming more and more accessible each day. This is highlighted by the affordability and convenience of voice-controlled smart speakers, which offer virtual assistants that can control smart home devices through simple, natural language voice commands.

The top players in this industry are Google and Amazon, whose Home and Echo devices, respectively, have sold over a hundred million devices combined. But which one is the best smart speaker, and the best virtual assistant? Let’s pit them against each other and find out.

For the purposes of this comparison, we’ll only be looking at the standard Google Home and the standard Amazon Echo hardware, ignoring the smaller versions such as the Echo Dot, and display-equipped devices like the Echo Show.

Design
This is a mostly subjective competition. The Google Home has a unique design, and is almost like a modern sculpture. But the Amazon Echo’s simple cylindrical and wide variety of materials, including an optional wood finish, give it a classier, more timeless look that is suitable as an accent piece for any home.

Sound Quality
Google Home has plenty of punch to it, with a lot of bass that feels like it comes from a bigger speaker.  But it suffers from a loss in clarity. The Amazon Echo has a more reasonable amount of bass, as well as better volume, clarity, and overall quality.

Digital Assistant
Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistant, has a variety of “skills” that connect to plenty of third-party services and actions. However, Google Home takes the win here, because of Google Assistant’s powerful natural language system, which can recognize more complex questions and provide better answers. Google Assistant also supports chaining multiple commands together in one sentence, though you can have multiple preset actions with Alexa by creating custom routines.

Streaming Services
When you buy one of these devices, pick the one whose ecosystem you have more of an investment in. Choose Google Home for example if you have Play Music as your main deal, or Amazon Echo if you use Prime Music and Audible. Both of these devices support Spotify, though.

Smart Home Support
While both support the most popular smart home brands and systems, Amazon Alexa can control many more third-party devices than Google can. Look up all of your IoT and smart devices and see which virtual assistant they support. However, when in doubt, choose the Echo.

Pricing
The standard Google Home goes for $130, while the Amazon Echo is $100, giving a minor edge to Amazon in pricing.

Conclusion
Overall, the Amazon Echo wins the race by just a smidgen, offering better sound, having more third-party smart home support, and being cheaper than the Google Home. While Alexa isn’t quite as “intelligent” as Google Assistant, she more than makes up for it with a wider range of supported brands.

That said, both are great choices for the majority of people, thanks to cross-platform support for most smart home devices. You can’t go wrong either way. Smart speaker tech has matured enough that they can both be viable parts of everyone’s smart home.

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Gadget love forecast to grow in US despite trust issues

LAS VEGAS -- The trade group behind the Consumer Electronics Show set to start here Tuesday forecast that US gadget love will grow despite trust and privacy issues hammering the tech world.

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) predicted that US retail revenue in the sector would climb to a record high $398 billion this year.

"There are so many cool things happening in the consumer electronics industry right now," said CTA vice president of market research Steve Koenig.

"We are fast approaching a new era of consumer technology."

Trends gaining momentum, and expected to be on display on the CES show floor, included super high resolution 8K televisions; blazingly-fast 5G wireless internet, and virtual aides such as Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa woven into devices of all kinds.

The CTA forecast revenue growth in the US for smart phones, speakers, homes and watches along with televisions, drones, 'in-vehicle tech,' and streaming services.

Amid trade wars, geopolitical tensions and a decline in public trust, the technology sector is seeking to put its problems aside with CES, the annual extravaganza showcasing futuristic innovations.

The Jan. 8-11 Las Vegas trade event offers a glimpse into new products and services designed to make people's lives easier, fun and more productive, reaching across diverse sectors such as entertainment, health, transportation, agriculture and sports.

But the celebration of innovation will be mixed with concerns about public trust in new technology and other factors that could cool the growth of a sizzling economic sector.

"I think 2019 will be a year of trust-related challenges for the tech industry," said Bob O'Donnell of Technalysis Research.

CES features 4,500 exhibitors across 2.75 million square feet (250,000 square meters) of exhibit space showcasing artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, smart homes, smart cities, sports gadgets and other cutting-edge devices. Some 182,000 trade professionals are expected.

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Amazon error allowed Alexa user to eavesdrop on another home

FRANKFURT - A user of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant in Germany got access to more than a thousand recordings from another user because of "a human error" by the company.

The customer had asked to listen back to recordings of his own activities made by Alexa but he was also able to access 1,700 audio files from a stranger when Amazon sent him a link, German trade publication c't reported.

"This unfortunate case was the result of a human error and an isolated single case," an Amazon spokesman said on Thursday.

The first customer had initially got no reply when he told Amazon about the access to the other recordings, the report said. The files were then deleted from the link provided by Amazon but he had already downloaded them on to his computer, added the report from c't, part of German tech publisher Heise.

"We resolved the issue with the 2 customers involved and took measures to further optimize our processes. As a precautionary measure we contacted the relevant authorities", the Amazon spokesman added.

On the recordings, a man and a female companion could be overheard in his home and the magazine was able to identify and contact him through the recorded information, according to the report.

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Amazon aims to make Alexa assistant bigger part of users' lives

Seattle, UNITED STATES -- From the kitchen to the car, Amazon on Thursday sought to make its Alexa digital assistant and online services a bigger part of people's lives with an array of new products and partnerships.

Updates to the internet giant's Alexa-infused Echo smart speakers will allow them to tend to microwave cooking and even have "hunches" regarding what users may want or have forgotten.

When Alexa is told "corn on the cob," a digital Echo speaker starts an AmazonBasics microwave oven in a faux home demonstration room, setting the preferred time and voicing what it is doing.

But when asked to add 30 seconds, Alexa paused and then started to play songs by the band "Thirty Seconds to Mars."

Such misunderstandings are routine enough with smart speakers that they have become fodder for humor, and even cropped up while Amazon devices and services senior vice president David Limp showed off new devices in a nearby building a short time earlier.

Alexa has gotten smarter, more conversational and even intuitive during the past year as teams at Amazon work hard on getting the digital assistant to better understand people, according to Limp.

Beer, pets and music

Alexa is even developing a personality, complete with a favorite pet or beer.

It has also learned to understand whispers, responding in equally hushed tones in a feature to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

Amazon on Thursday teased a coming feature called Alexa Hunches that is designed to infuse the digital assistant with intuition. For example, when a user bids Alexa a good night, it might respond by mentioning they forgot to lock a door.

Alexa uses artificial intelligence to identify patterns in the lives of users, factoring in habits, weather, time of year and more. To know what is happening with other smart devices in a home, the Echo speaker needs to be connected to them.

Amazon recently passed the 20,000 mark for smart home devices made by the Seattle-based company or partners.

"We are really at a tipping point for the smart home," Limp said while unveiling a cornucopia of new devices.

An overhauled Echo Dot smart speaker boasts much-improved sound and design while keeping the $50 price tag of the original.

Amazon added Echo equivalents of stereo components for home sound systems, along with improvements to its online music service, with partners including Spotify, Pandora, and Deezer.

Limp unveiled a "frustration free setup" platform intended to grow into a framework that any smart device maker can use to make getting gadgets to talk to Alexa as easy as plugging them into an outlet.

"That is not going to happen overnight," Limp said. "As we imagine a future that has thousands of these devices in your home, this is going to become absolutely essential."

And, of course, there was the $60 microwave, which Limp contended was a strong test because of how much microwaves interfere with wireless connectivity used by devices to communicate.

Guarding homes

A freshly announced Alexa Guard service synchronizes with Echo speakers in the home and security cameras from Amazon-owned smart doorbell maker Ring.

When Echo speakers are set to guard mode, they listen for breaking glass or the sound of alarms from smoke or carbon dioxide detectors and send alerts to smartphones or even security companies.

Ring cameras can also be connected to Echo devices with screens, letting people see who has come calling, demonstrations showed.

A new Echo Show device boasted twice the screen display area as its predecessor, and Fire TV Recast that acts as a digital recorder for traditional television broadcasts.

Not satisfied with being built into new cars, Alexa will be able to work in older models with an Echo Auto device that can be affixed to dashboards and reach the internet through smartphones.

"Amazon launched today what I believe is the industry's largest assortment of home automation products and added meaningful improvements to its services," said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy.

"The company once again separated itself again in the smart home space from both Google and Apple by adding new devices and capabilities."

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Bonjour, Alexa: Amazon digital assistant heads to France

SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon on Wednesday announced that its digital assistant Alexa is heading for France in Echo voice-commanded speakers as of next week.

Software developers have created an array of "skills" for Alexa-infused devices tailored for French users, according to the US internet giant.

"Tens of millions of customers around the world are already using Alexa, and today we're excited to introduce Alexa to our customers in France," said Amazon Devices International vice president Jorrit Van der Meulen.

"In France, Alexa is French. We had to rethink the concept to honor French language and culture."

Echo devices with Alexa software compete against Google Home smart speakers, which became available in France last year, and with voice-activated devices from other makers including Apple.

Some analysts see the dawn of a "post-smartphone era" in which people take to interacting with computers simply by speaking.

"They're always ready, hands-free, and fast," Amazon said of its smart speakers in a release.

"Alexa is the brain behind Echo -- just ask, and she’ll answer questions, play music, read the news, set timers and alarms, check sports scores, control lights around your home, and much more."

Alexa is available in several countries outside the US, but the assistant has been operating primarily in English. The devices became available in Germany and Austria earlier this year.

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Oregon family finds Amazon's Alexa has a mind of her own

A Portland, Oregon, family has learned what happens when Amazon.com Inc's popular voice assistant Alexa is lost in translation.

Amazon on Thursday described an "unlikely... string of events" that made Alexa send an audio recording of the family to one of their contacts randomly. The episode underscored how Alexa can misinterpret conversation as a wake-up call and command.

A local news outlet, KIRO 7, reported that a woman with Amazon devices across her home received a call two weeks ago from her husband's employee, who said Alexa had recorded the family's conversation about hardwood floors and sent it to him.

"I felt invaded," the woman, only identified as Danielle, said in the report. "A total privacy invasion. Immediately I said, 'I'm never plugging that device in again, because I can't trust it.'"

Alexa, which comes with Echo speakers and other gadgets, starts recording after it hears its name or another "wake word" selected by users. This means that an utterance quite like Alexa, even from a TV commercial, can activate a device.

That's what happened in the incident, Amazon said.

"Subsequent conversation was heard as a 'send message' request," the company said in a statement. "At which point, Alexa said out loud 'To whom?' At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customer's contact list."

Amazon added, "We are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."

Assuring customers of Alexa's security is crucial to Amazon, which has ambitions for Alexa to be ubiquitous - whether dimming the lights for customers or placing orders for them with the world's largest online retailer.

University researchers from Berkeley and Georgetown found in a 2016 paper that sounds unintelligible to humans can set off voice assistants in general, which raised concerns of exploitation by attackers. Amazon did not immediately comment on the matter, but it previously told The New York Times that it has taken steps to keep its devices secure.

Millions of Amazon customers have shopped with Alexa. Customers bought tens of millions of Alexa devices last holiday season alone, the company has said.

That makes the incident reported Thursday a rare one. But faulty hearing is not.

"Background noise from our television is making it think we said Alexa," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said of his personal experience. "It happens all the time." 

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Amazon rolls out model 'smart' homes for US shoppers to try out Alexa

VALLEJO, California - Amazon.com Inc on Wednesday said it has set up model "smart" homes across the United States for shoppers to experience what it's like for voice aide Alexa to dim the lights, turn on the TV or order more laundry detergent.

The rollout underscores how Amazon aims to make Alexa and the company's growing list of services, from shopping and entertainment to home security, an everyday part of consumers' lives. It also steps up competition with retailers such as Best Buy Co Inc that focus on showcasing technology and advising shoppers.

Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, said it has partnered with Lennar Corp to convert some of the home construction company's model homes into showrooms for Alexa. The so-called "Amazon Experience Centers" are now open near 15 cities including Los Angeles, Dallas and Washington, with more to come.

"Today, the choices open to customers are, you can go to a brick-and-mortar store and you can see devices on demo tables. You go online and do your research. But you fundamentally are left to imagine what an integrated home would look like," said Nish Lathia, general manager of Amazon Services, in the company's Vallejo, California experience center outside San Francisco.

The centers are "intended to educate and inspire. On the secondary benefit, yes, if it drives sales, we're not complaining," he said.

David Kaiserman, president of Lennar Ventures, said the centers should increase traffic to Lennar's model homes and spark ideas for potential home buyers. Lennar will get a standard commission for Amazon sales to customers it helped acquire, too.

The global smart home market is expected to reach an estimated $107.4 billion by 2023, according to market research firm ReportLinker.

Best Buy is betting big on this trend. It has expanded its In-Home Advisor program to all major US markets and employs more than 350 advisors under the initiative, its most recent annual report said.

Experts visit customers' homes and consult on issues from increasing appliance efficiency to setting up connected gadgets - similar in nature to Amazon's 1.5-year-old "Smart Home Services," which is poised to gain from the new experience centers.

"We're excited about Best Buy's program," said Amazon's Lathia. "The more customers that get educated about smart home, the better it is for everybody."

Philippe Ferrey, an Amazon Expert present at the Vallejo center, previously worked five years for Best Buy as a Geek Squad agent, he said. 

(Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in Vallejo, California; additional reporting by Nandita Bose; editing by Richard Pullin)

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Amazon to quiet Alexa's cackling

SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon on Wednesday promised to keep virtual assistant Alexa from spontaneously cackling, giving people eerie feelings about what the artificial intelligence might be plotting.

Users of smart speakers with Alexa assistant software have comically expressed their fears in recent weeks on Twitter, even posting video snippets of speakers infused with the software laughing menacingly for no apparent reason.

"If Alexa is laughing at you to your face, just imagine what it says about you behind your back," read a quip posted at Twitter by @mattblaze.

Darker posts wondered playfully whether fears about artificial intelligence turning on humans were coming real.

"Every time Alexa laughs, an angel dies," entrepreneur and innovator Elon Musk joked in a Twitter exchange on the development.

Tesla co-founder Musk is among high profile figures who have called for vigilance to ensure artificial intelligence doesn't turn on humans.

Amazon told AFP it looked into what was going on and found that sometimes Alexa mistakenly registers the phrase "Alexa laugh" and obeys.

"We are changing that phrase to be 'Alexa, can you laugh?' which is less likely to have false positives," an Amazon spokesperson told AFP.

And, Alexa is being modified to say "Sure, I can laugh," before cackling.

Streaming television titan Netflix took the opportunity to spotlight a Black Mirror dystopian series known for twisted, unanticipated consequences of new technologies.

"Just brainstorming some @blackmirror titles while Alexa laughs maniacally in the distance," read an @netflix tweet.

The tweet included a picture of a multi-story, modern book shop overlaid with "The Bookstore That Enslaved Humanity."

Amazon began as an online book seller.

One video of a cackling Alexa posted at Twitter on February 23 had logged more than a million views.

"I unplugged Alexa and she's still laughing," one Twitter user quipped.

Launched in 2014 by Amazon, the Alexa digital assistant has spread from the company's Echo voice-commanded speakers to millions of devices, even cars.

Alexa competes in the digital assistant market with offerings from tech titans including Apple, Google, and Microsoft.

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Samsung revamps Bixby to take on Amazon's Alexa

SAN FRANCISCO - Samsung on Wednesday announced it is upgrading its Bixby digital assistant and making it available for a range of connected devices, setting up a clash with Amazon's Alexa and others competing for leadership in artificial intelligence.

The South Korean electronics giant, which is the world's biggest smartphone maker, launched Bixby last year but only for its own flagship Galaxy handsets.

The new Bixby 2.0 will be open to developers in a move to put the personal assistant on more devices, the company announced at its developer conference in San Francisco.

"Bixby 2.0 will be ubiquitous, available on any and all devices," said Eui-Suk Chung, Samsung executive vice president, in a blog post.

"This means having the intelligence of Bixby, powered by the cloud, act as the control hub of your device ecosystem, including mobile phones, TVs, refrigerators, home speakers, or any other connected technology you can imagine."

The move puts Samsung and Bixby squarely in competition with Alexa, the artificial intelligence program powering Amazon's connected speakers and on many third-party devices including appliances and cars.

Also competing in the space are Google and Microsoft, which have their own digital assistants that can be used for smart homes and connected vehicles.

While the first iteration of Bixby drew mixed reviews, Chung said the 2.0 version would be "a powerful intelligent assistant platform that will bring a connected experience that is ubiquitous, personal, and open."

He called Bixby 2.0 "a fundamental leap forward" for digital assistants.

"Today's assistants are useful, but ultimately still play a limited role in people's lives," Chung said.

"People use them to set timers and reminders, answer trivial questions, etc. We see a world where digital assistants play a bigger role, an intelligent role, where one day everything from our phones, to our fridge, to our sprinkler system will have some sort of intelligence to help us seamlessly interact with all the technology we use each day."

When Bixby was introduced, it was billed as a system to control nearly all tasks in smartphone applications to make the devices simpler to control.

Samsung last year bought Viv, an artificial intelligence startup with co-founders who were part of the team that built virtual assistant Siri, used in Apple devices.

Speaking at the WSJD Live conference this week, Samsung Next president David Eun said, "When we think about Bixby, we don't think about it as a voice gateway on a single device. We think of it as a service across all devices in the home -- TVs, appliances, even cars."

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Amazon beefs up Echo line-up and Alexa skills

SAN FRANCISCO - Amazon on Wednesday introduced a handful of new home assistant devices powered by its Alexa voice-commanded artificial intelligence, ramping up its lineup competing against challenges from Google and others.

The US tech giant unveiled upgrades to its Echo speakers which showcase the company's digital assistant.

The freshened line-up of Echo devices included a redesigned model with improved sound, along with an Echo Plus model.

Among the new features was the ability to make free voice calls to home phones as well as to other Echo devices.

Along with fortifying its hardware lineup ahead of the year-end holiday shopping season, the Seattle-based internet titan also announced that Alexa smarts will be built into BMW and Mini automobiles by the middle of next year.

"Voice is a big part of the future, especially in cars," Alex automotive vice president Ned Curic said in a release.

"Using your voice to enjoy content and interact with your car makes a great driving experience even better."

Carmakers Ford and Volkswagen early this year announced plans to infuse models with Alexa virtual assistant technology.

People in BMW or Mini cars will be able to ask Alexa for directions, make call, control smart homes, check news, and more while motoring along, the companies said in a release.

"By making this step and integrating Alexa into our models from 2018, BMW and MINI will form a more intrinsic part of our customers’ digital lifestyles," said BMW senior vice president of digital services Dieter May.

"Voice control first featured in BMW Group cars many years ago, and we are now enhancing its functionality by adding a digital ecosystem."

Alexa is up against digital assistant software fielded by Apple, Google and Microsoft as they internet giants invest in a future where computing power is ubiquitous and voice-commanded.

On the hardware side, Amazon introduced a new small, round Echo Spot with a circular screen for displaying digital content.

"Echo Spot combines the popular small design of Echo Dot, the display of Echo Show, and the features you love about Alexa," senior vice president Tom Taylor said.

"See the weather, watch video news briefings, glance at your alarm clock, check on your kids, and more."

Echo Spot could be ordered at the online retailer's website for $130 and was to begin shipping in December.

Amazon also showed off a new Fire TV device capable of streaming ultra-high definition 4K video from the internet to televisions.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Amazon deal seen as disruptor of grocery business

NEW YORK - Amazon's deal to buy Whole Foods Market injects even greater pressure into the food and grocery sectors at a time when e-commerce is already roiling retailers.

The tech giant's $13.7 billion acquisition of the upscale, niche grocery chain was described as a seismic event by industry analysts, despite Whole Foods' relatively small size.

The deal prompted jokes and semi-serious posts on Twitter about a space-age shopping era with Amazon's artificial intelligence program Alexa replacing cashiers and ordering drone deliveries of kale.

Joking aside, the purchase will mean a serious disruption: rather than a brick-and-mortar store getting into e-commerce, in this deal an online behemoth will be moving onto Main Street, and in one fell swoop acquiring more than 450 stores in the US, Canada and Britain.

It also is expected to hasten existing efforts by grocers to make shopping more smartphone-ready, sell more private label and specialty foods and overcome the hurdles of home-delivery of groceries.

Amazon's strong record of keeping prices low adds pressure on supermarket chains that may be forced to consolidate to cut costs in a bid to keep up.

That could in turn spur mergers among large food manufacturers that feel compelled to negotiate with heftier clients.

ANTITRUST CONCERNS

"It's a big deal because of Amazon and what Amazon can bring to the game," said Joe Agnese, analyst at CFRA Research.

"Amazon is thought to bring change and an acceleration of change, and so having the presence of Amazon there may lead to a faster moving push into food delivery and lower prices."

Analysts generally praised the deal as a smart buy for Amazon, but not everybody was applauding.

"Government antitrust enforcers should block this merger," said Barry C. Lynn, director of the Open Markets Program at New America, a Washington think tank.

He warned that Amazon already exerts dangerous influence "over America's markets for books and music, and is fast consolidating control over other key flows of information and ideas."

"This private corporation already dominates every corner of online commerce, and uses its power to set terms and prices for many of the most important products Americans buy or sell to one another," Lynn said. "Now Amazon is exploiting that advantage to take over physical retail."

Whole Foods accounts for just 1.2 percent of the US food and grocery market share, while Amazon has just 0.2 percent, according to research firm GlobalData Retail.

The biggest player in the fragmented market is Wal-Mart with 14.5 percent, with Kroger second with 7.2 percent.

The deal further cements Amazon's remarkable rise from an online bookseller of the 1990s to a seller of broad-based goods with mastery over supply chains and logistics, a dedicated group of subscribers through its Prime program and an increasingly honored creator of original entertainment.

Amazon's revenues have grown from $34 billion in 2010 to $136 billion in 2016.

HURDLE OF HOME DELIVERY

Amazon did not elaborate on the strategic rationale for buying a grocery chain, but analysts said the acquisition has the potential to strengthen its ties to consumers through its Prime program.

Amazon already does some grocery deliveries through Prime and some other programs, but has the chance to boost home deliveries of Whole Foods' "365 Everyday Value" products and potentially "transform the physical retail experience" through checkout-free shopping, according to JP Morgan Chase.

That push also will reverberate through the broader industry.

Companies like Wal-Mart Stores and Target have had success with "click and collect" programs, where customers order goods on their cell phone and pick them up curbside.

But home delivery of goods has proven to be a big hurdle due to costs and the difficulty of selling meats and other perishables.

"The thinking is it's a very complex area that everybody's been testing and trying to make something work, but they haven't been able to figure it out and that Amazon, now they're here, they can make it work," Agnese said.

"That's the fear that Amazon is going to beat everybody and do it better than everybody."

Wal-Mart, Kroger and others already have seen profits pinched by stepped-up investment in e-commerce, store remodeling, higher wages and low prices, as they try to win customer allegiance and keep shoppers coming back.

New competition from Amazon will "exert margin pressure on everybody else and force everybody to be innovative and consolidate," Agnese said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Huawei adds Amazon Alexa to flagship Mate 9 smartphone

LAS VEGAS - Chinese tech giant Huawei is adding Amazon's artificial intelligence application Alexa to its flagship smartphone for its US launch.

The number three global smartphone brand, Huawei announced at this week's Consumer Electronics Show that its Mate 9 handset would include the personal digital assistant developed by Amazon.

The Mate 9, a large-screen "phablet" marketed as a rival to the big handsets from Apple and Samsung, will be available to US buyers in "early 2017," the Chinese firm said at the Las Vegas tech show.

Huawei said this is the first smartphone to pre-install Amazon Alexa, a cloud-based, voice-activated digital assistant that can control smart home devices or respond to questions.

Amazon is making Alexa available to third parties as it seeks to boost its presence in the consumer electronics field with artificial intelligence and home automation.

Alexa is battling similar services developed by Google, Microsoft and Apple that can be used on a smartphone or home speaker hub.

Huawei, whose US presence is limited mostly through direct-to-consumer sales of unlocked devices, launched the Mate 9 late last year in Europe and other markets, but without Alexa.

Buyers in those markets will be able to install the Amazon application through an over-the-air update.

The Mate 9, which could get a boost from the woes of Samsung's recalled Note 7 handset, is touted by the company as a high-performance device with fast charging and extended battery life, and upgraded photography with a dual-lens system developed in cooperation with Leica.

Huawei claims its fast computing performance will remain for at least 18 months, and that its chipset is designed with machine learning capabilities to make the phone smarter as it is used.

"Response to Huawei Mate 9 has been extremely positive, resulting in numerous industry awards and accolades,” said Zhendong Zhu, president of Huawei Device USA.

"With Mate 9, we set out to improve every element of the smartphone experience, creating a dynamic and powerful device that takes a big step forward in what consumers expect in a smartphone. We're excited to introduce the Mate 9 flagship device to the US market."

The launch was the second in two days at CES for the large Chinese firm. On Tuesday, it unveiled its upgraded mid-range Honor 6x smartphone that will be sold starting this month in 13 markets, including the United States.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Virtual assistant Alexa boasts 1,000 'skills': Amazon

SAN FRANCISCO, United States - Amazon on Friday boasted that its virtual assistant Alexa is capable of 1,000 "skills," as the online retail giant bolsters defenses against rivals such as Google and Apple.

The Seattle-based company said in a blog post that the programs were developed specifically for the voice-commanded Alexa software used in Amazon devices such as Echo and Fire TV.

Amazon released voice-enabled wireless speaker Echo in late 2014, infusing it with virtual assistant smarts that enable it to answer questions or control linked devices upon command.

A kit lets outside software developers create "experiences," similar in concept to apps, for Alexa.

Alexa director Rob Pulciani said tens of thousands of developers are learning about and crafting programs that introduce users "to the magic and simplicity of hands-free, voice-driven interactions."

Amazon is out to put Echo and Alexa at the heart of the connected home.

Alexa's skills include selecting music, appointment reminders, checking bank balances, ordering food, summoning Uber rides and more.

Amazon has not disclosed sales figures for Echo, but the device appears to be having success in the market due, in part, to beating rivals out of the starting gate.

- Google Home coming -

Google last month unveiled a virtual home assistant device that will challenge Amazon Echo as the Internet giant laid out a future rich with artificial intelligence.

Google Home, about the size of a stout vase, will hit the market later this year, vice president of product management Mario Queiroz said at the opening of the Internet giant's annual developers conference.

Home devices will incorporate new Google virtual assistant software introduced by chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"Our ability to do conversational understanding is far ahead of what other virtual assistants can do," Pichai told a packed audience at the conference.

"We are an order of magnitude ahead of everyone else."

Home devices combine machine learning, online search, voice recognition and more to allow people to get answers to questions, manage tasks, or control devices by speaking naturally, demonstrations showed.

Home will synch with Chromecast devices that allow remote control of televisions or stereo systems, and with "smart" devices made by Google-owned Nest and other companies.

Google did not disclose pricing on Home devices.

"Google Home could be a major force and could also dramatically decrease the sales potential of Amazon Echo," said analyst Patrick Moorhead of Moor Insights and Strategy.

Apple is expected to enter the market with a home assistant device of its own, perhaps unveiled at its annual developers conference taking place later this month in San Francisco, according to rumors swirling ahead of the event.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

WATCH: Amazon gives new power to personal assistant Alexa

WASHINGTON - Amazon's personal assistant speaker is taking over more functions for home automation networks.

The device introduced last year as Amazon Echo, which responds to voice commands and answers questions, can now turn compatible lights on and off, control fans, heaters and other devices.

A customer can activate the assistant by saying "Amazon" or "Alexa."

So a customer can say, "Alexa, turn on the hallway light" or "Alexa, dim the living room lights to 20 percent," according to examples provided by Amazon.

The US online giant has added other features since introducing the device in November, including integrating with Pandora's online radio service, getting information on traffic or sports scores and setting schedule reminders.

These features could for example allow consumers to use voice commands to launch a music playlist, or ask Alexa to "add gelato to my shopping list," in another example cited by the company.

Amazon said its agreements with electronics makers Philips and Belkin will allow the speaker to integrate with products from those firms including smart lightbulbs, electric blankets and coffee makers.

Echo became available last year on an invitation-only basis at a price of $199, or $99 for those who pay for the Seattle-based company's Prime subscription service.

"Echo's brain is in the cloud, running on Amazon Web Services so it continually learns and adds more functionality over time," Amazon says on a Web page for the service. "The more you use Echo, the more it adapts to your speech patterns, vocabulary, and personal preferences."

A demonstration video online revealed a female voice responding to questions or commands preceded by the trigger word "Alexa."

A ring of microphones built into can-shaped Echo speakers enable the devices to identify voices even when music is playing, according to Amazon.

Echo accesses news, weather, streaming music and more using wireless Internet connections.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com