Amazon is upgrading Alexa by replacing its own AI with anthropics Claude Model,creating a more advanced voice assistant called "Remarkable Alexa".
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00:00Amazon is making a major change to Alexa, replacing its own AI with Anthropic's AI
00:08model, Claude.
00:09The new remarkable Alexa promises more advanced natural conversations, but it also comes with
00:14a few surprises.
00:16Is this the next big step for smart assistants, or is Amazon taking a gamble with this move?
00:21Let's discuss and find out in today's video.
00:24Alright, so Amazon has been working on this upgraded Alexa.
00:28Internally, they're calling it Remarkable Alexa, or Project Banyan for a while now,
00:32and originally they were using their own AI technology for it.
00:35But apparently, things didn't go so well in the testing phase.
00:38According to Reuters, Amazon's in-house AI was having a lot of trouble responding quickly
00:43to user prompts.
00:44I mean, we're talking about a lag of up to 6 or 7 seconds sometimes.
00:48And in today's fast-paced world, where we're all used to instant responses, think chat
00:53GPT or Google Assistant, that's just not going to cut it.
00:56So Amazon decided to switch gears and use AI models from Anthropic, a San Francisco-based
01:01AI research company that was actually founded by some ex-OpenAI folks.
01:05Anthropic has been making waves with its AI models, especially their Claude model, which
01:09is pretty good at understanding context and maintaining more natural, human-like conversations.
01:14And apparently, it performed way better than Amazon's own AI in those crucial tests.
01:20Amazon has invested a whopping $4 billion in Anthropic, which might explain why they're
01:24leaning on Claude's tech for this new Alexa.
01:26Alright, so let's talk about what this new remarkable Alexa is actually going to do.
01:32Amazon is saying this upgraded version is going to be a lot more advanced than what
01:36we've got right now.
01:37The idea is that you'll be able to have more complex and context-aware conversations with
01:42Alexa.
01:43For example, you might ask it for shopping advice, like what clothes you should pack
01:46for a beach vacation in Bali, or to aggregate news stories based on specific interests.
01:52Also, Alexa will be able to handle more complex, multi-step tasks from a single prompt.
01:57Like, if you say, Alexa, order me a pizza, draft an email to my boss, and set up a reminder
02:01for my dentist appointment, it will all be done.
02:04But here's the catch.
02:06Amazon plans to offer this upgraded Alexa as a paid subscription service.
02:10So unlike the classic Alexa that we've been using for free, the remarkable Alexa is going
02:14to cost somewhere between $5 to $10 a month.
02:17And just to be clear, this won't be part of your Amazon Prime subscription, so it'll
02:20be an extra cost on top of that.
02:23Amazon is betting that these new AI-driven features will be worth the price tag, but
02:27it's definitely a gamble.
02:29I mean, asking people to pay for something that's been free all along is always a tricky
02:33move.
02:34Some folks inside Amazon are even skeptical that customers will go for it, especially
02:38since many are already shelling out $139 a year for Prime.
02:43So why is Amazon doing this now?
02:45Well, it all comes down to money and competition.
02:48Despite Alexa being super popular, Amazon says they've sold over 500 million Alexa-enabled
02:53devices.
02:54The voice assistant division hasn't been making as much money as Amazon would like.
02:58The company's leadership has been pushing hard for Alexa to start generating more revenue,
03:03and they see 2024 as a crucial year to prove Alexa's worth in the market.
03:08The idea here is that by offering a more advanced paid version of Alexa, Amazon can start turning
03:14it from a cost center, basically something that costs more money to maintain than it
03:18brings in, into a revenue-generating machine.
03:22And with around 100 million active Alexa users, if even 10% of them decide to go for the paid
03:28version, that could mean at least $600 million in annual revenue, assuming they go with the
03:33lower end of the price range.
03:36Now, this move to partner with Anthropic is pretty interesting because it marks a bit
03:40of a shift in strategy for Amazon.
03:42Typically, Amazon likes to build its own tech from the ground up, which gives them
03:47full control over the user experience, data collection, and all that good stuff.
03:51But with the rise of other tech giants like Microsoft and Apple partnering up with OpenAI
03:56to integrate ChatGPT into their products, Amazon probably felt the heat and realized
04:01they needed to step up their game to keep up.
04:04And it's not just about keeping up appearances.
04:06The AI race is heating up, and companies are scrambling to offer the most advanced, most
04:11intuitive, and frankly, most human-like AI assistants out there.
04:15The release of ChatGPT last year really shook things up, showing that people want AI that
04:20can handle more natural-flowing conversations, not just simple commands.
04:24So Amazon, like many others, is trying to make sure they're not left behind.
04:28So what else can we expect from this new Alexa?
04:31For starters, it sounds like it's going to be much better at integrating with other
04:35smart home devices and remembering user preferences.
04:39Think of it as your personal butler who knows all your quirks and habits.
04:43Maybe you like your lights dimmed to a certain level at night, or you always want the coffee
04:46maker to start brewing at 7am sharp.
04:49This new Alexa should be able to handle all that seamlessly.
04:52And for those of you with kids, there's talk that the new AI could be tailored to
04:56offer special interactions with children.
04:58It will be able to engage with your kids in a more meaningful way, maybe helping them
05:03with homework, playing educational games, or even telling bedtime stories that are a
05:06little more interactive than what we've seen before.
05:09But some people are a bit worried about what this means for privacy and data collection.
05:13By moving to a more advanced AI model and potentially handling more sensitive information,
05:17there are definitely some concerns about how that data will be used, stored, or potentially shared.
05:23Amazon hasn't gone into detail about how they'll handle these concerns, but it's
05:28definitely something to keep an eye on.
05:30Now, Alexa isn't the only AI project Amazon has been working on.
05:35They've also been doing some interesting stuff with an internal AI assistant called
05:38Amazon Q.
05:40And if you haven't heard much about this one, it's because it's more of an internal
05:44tool that's being used to streamline software development across the company.
05:48But get this.
05:49Amazon Q has reportedly saved the company $260 million and 4,500 developer years.
05:56How did it do that?
05:57Well, by automating a lot of the repetitive processes that normally take developers a
06:01ton of time.
06:02For example, something like upgrading a system to a new version of Java used to take 50 development
06:08days.
06:09Now it takes just a few hours.
06:10That's a huge boost in productivity and efficiency, freeing up developers to work
06:14on more complex, creative tasks.
06:16And if that wasn't enough, Amazon is also making moves in AI robotics.
06:21They recently hired the founders of a robotics startup called Covariant, which is working
06:25on some pretty advanced stuff like robotic arms that can perform common warehouse tasks.
06:31The cool part here is that Covariant is developing what they call a large language model for
06:36robots.
06:37Essentially, they're teaching robots how to understand and execute commands in a way
06:41that's more intuitive and less mechanical.
06:45Amazon's been bringing in some serious brainpower to help push this forward, including the founders
06:50of Covariant, who are now part of the Amazon team, along with about a quarter of Covariant's
06:55employees.
06:56They're integrating this tech into Amazon's existing robot fleet, which should make their
07:01warehouse operations even more efficient.
07:04So it's clear that Amazon is doubling down on AI across the board.
07:09From improving Alexa with Anthropic's Clawed AI, to enhancing their internal processes
07:14with Amazon Q, and even stepping up their robotics game, it's all about leveraging
07:19AI to make their services smarter, faster, and more integrated.
07:24But it also means that we, as consumers, are going to see more AI in our everyday lives,
07:30whether that's through smarter voice assistants, more automated homes, or even just better,
07:35faster services from companies like Amazon.
07:37It's an exciting time for tech, but it's also a time to stay informed and aware of
07:41how these technologies are developing and what they mean for our privacy, our jobs,
07:47and our daily routines.
07:48So what do you guys think?
07:49Would you be willing to pay extra for a more advanced version of Alexa?
07:53Or do you think Amazon should just keep it free and find other ways to monetize it?
07:58Drop your thoughts in the comments below, and don't forget to like and subscribe for
08:01more AI and tech updates.
08:04Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you in the next one.