More than a decade ago, before we talked about “AI agents,” Amazon launched its digital voice assistant Alexa and a smart speaker named Echo.
I remember using one and thought there was definitely a future for these types of devices. Fast forward to now, with big leaps in AI models, Alexa has gotten an upgrade and Amazon is imagining a world where its voice assistant can be with you everywhere.
Driving the current gadget and AI push is Amazon’s head of hardware and services, Panos Panay, a recent guest on The Tech Download.
Panay laid out his vision for Alexa+, the latest AI souped-up version of Alexa. The idea is that this assistant will learn about your life, context and perform tasks.
“Now it’s flexible. You just say what you think and your assistant is there to help you throughout the day and help you do what you want to do,” said Panay.
Amazon’s foray into devices has seen it jump into speakers, doorbells and now wearables with its acquisition of Bee, a wristband device startup. Alexa is at the heart of bringing all of those together in a world where “we may move away from the world of apps and screens,” Panay said.
The smartphone has been central to our digital lives for a long time. Now with more advanced AI, what if a screen isn’t needed and instead you can do more with voice? This is what Amazon, and other device companies are thinking about. What the gadgets of the future will look like is still up for debate. But Amazon is certainly cooking up a few things.
“I have a lab full of equipment,” Panay said, adding that there is a “whole road of devices on the way.”
The last big thing I took away from the discussion was about semiconductors. For those of you who know me, you know that chips are one of my favorite topics. For the first time in public, Panay discussed Amazon’s semiconductor efforts for consumer electronics.
“For some of the most important devices right now, our focus is on end-to-end silicon,” Panay said.
This means that Amazon designs the chips that go into its devices. It just comes out an apple playbook. With more control of hardware and software integration, Amazon will be able to deliver different experiences around Alexa.
There is so much you can get out of a podcast. Give it a listen and let me know what you think.
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