“Amazon Gives Alexa an Extreme Makeover with a Mind-Boggling Arsenal of AI Tools!”

“Amazon Rebuilt Alexa Using a ‘Staggering’ Amount of AI Tools”

“Five years after Amazon released the Echo in 2014, Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of smart home, is at an industry event in downtown San Francisco comparing the groundbreaking speaker to a chicken egg,” this is how the original article kicks off. If that doesn’t get the cogs turning, nothing will. It seems our pals at Amazon, have been doing more than just shipping boxes.

Rausch, in the article, compares the Echo’s first release to watching a chick peck its way out of an egg. It might seem a bit dramatic, but can anyone really blame him? Good old Alexa did really stamp a new-age identity on our lovely globe.

He was speaking about how Alexa has revolutionized the global landscape. Tracing it back to ‘teens asking Alexa to “play ‘Baby Shark’,” was a pretty cute anecdote. But this childhood lullaby doesn’t quite represent the monumental impact of this technological wonder.

The reach and effect of Alexa in both average households and businesses has been monumental indeed, resembling less “baby shark” and more “hungry shark.” Alexa has become as indispensable as the morning cup of coffee – answering questions, providing updates, routing commutes, ordering groceries and, even sending ‘just because’ flowers to that special someone.

The VP goes into depth about the ongoing improvements and additions to Alexa’s features, some that make one wonder if she’s going to leap out of the Echo and start serving breakfast! His projected vision of Alexa becoming even more integrated into our daily lives – a personal Superman, or perhaps, Superwoman, is mind-boggling.

In the end, the original article discusses Amazon’s grand vision for automated homes, with Alexa at the helm. Right, Alexa, can you take the dog out for a walk twice a day from now on? This dream of a day when, “Alexa might be woven into everything you own,” as Rausch puts it, seems incredibly futuristic, doesn’t it? Good times ahead.

Let’s remember, though, Alexa is a product of Amazon. Their efforts to invest in, develop and market Alexa must be driven by their ostensible goal of giving their customers a more comfortable, automated life. Bless their altruistic hearts. Time will tell whether these features will be more about facilitating an easier life for the users or extending Amazon’s reach into every aspect of their lives. For now, let’s have Alexa play “Suspenseful Theme Music” while we wait and wonder.

Read the original article here: https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-daniel-rausch-alexa-plus/