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Topic: Alexa

Alexa is maturing with advanced AI features this year but the company is now planning for a paid version that personalises its touch. News 

Amazon May Introduce a Paid Version of Alexa in the Market by Next Year

Adriana Marais,

Amazon’s plan to charge for its AI chatbot could come to fruition as early as next year. The company has talked about the need to monetize Alexa, which requires large investments and hardware to build these systems to run and manage AI applications. The company is said to be planning to introduce a paid Alexa to consumers in June this year, but Amazon’s concerns have reportedly led to the release being pushed back to 2025. The company is expected to call it Alexa Plus, and it’s expected to work in…

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Amazon is planning to introduce a new paid version of Alexa AI, reports suggest. (Unsplash) AI 

Amazon plans to enhance Alexa AI capabilities and introduce a paid version called ‘Alexa Plus’, revealing details about the rumored product.

Febin Mathew

Amazon Alexa has emerged as a prominent player in the realm of AI-driven voice assistants in recent years. It offers a range of useful functions, including playing music, answering queries, and entertaining children. Additionally, it can control various smart home devices such as televisions, lights, air conditioners, and washing machines. However, Amazon is now looking to enhance Alexa’s capabilities by incorporating personalized artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The catch is that users will need to pay for this new feature, known as Alexa Plus. Furthermore, there are concerns about the accuracy…

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Amazon is streamlining operations across various divisions this month, with cutbacks observed in music, gaming, and certain human resources roles. News 

Amazon Cuts Jobs, Shifts Focus to AI: Alexa Division to Feel the Impact

Sanjay Patil

US tech giant Amazon has announced it will cut hundreds of jobs from the unit responsible for popular voice assistant Alexa as the company shifts its business focus to focus on generative artificial intelligence (AI). Alexa is an artificial intelligence-based voice assistant that can be used to set timers, make search queries, play music or as a home automation center. According to Reuters, the cuts affect several hundred employees working at Alexa. “We’re shifting some of our efforts to better align with our business priorities and what we know is…

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Alexa can answer kids’ queries using generative AI. (Amazon)

Alexa Gains Advanced AI Capabilities with New ‘Explore with Alexa’ Feature for Children

Febin Mathew

In recent years, voice assistants have gained immense popularity. Gone are the days when you had to manually turn on your music system, search for a song on your phone, and play it. Now, all you have to do is ask Alexa. Amazon’s voice assistant is incredibly handy for various tasks like playing music, answering queries, and entertaining children. It can even control smart home devices such as your TV, lights, AC, washing machine, and more. If your child is feeling restless, simply request Alexa to play a nursery rhyme…

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Alexa AI was introduced at the event this week which should the evolution of the voice assistant and behave more human-like. AI 

Possibility of Charging for Amazon’s Alexa AI Services in the Future

Febin Mathew, ,

Amazon showcased its AI lineup at the Devices event this week, but it goes without saying that Generative AI was a hot word throughout the keynote. The company is understandably working through Alexa on new solutions with artificial intelligence for consumer needs. And it has been suggested that Amazon could eventually decide to charge for its Alexa AI assistant in the coming years. Amazon hasn’t directly talked about its future plans, but outgoing CEO Dave Limp hinted in an interview with Bloomberg about the possibility of Alexa becoming a paid…

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OpenAI released its ChatGPT app in May, and already offers a voice-to-text capability that lets users talk to the bot. (AFP) AI 

ChatGPT Now Has Five Different Vocalizations Thanks to OpenAI

Febin Mathew, ,

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence startup, is introducing a new capability to its ChatGPT app. This update allows the chatbot to respond to spoken questions and commands using its own speech. Within the next two weeks, users will have the option to select from five different personas, such as “Juniper,” “Breeze,” and “Ember,” to personalize the voice of the chatbot. By choosing a persona, ChatGPT will generate audio in that specific voice, enabling activities like reading AI-generated bedtime stories aloud. This feature will be accessible to subscribers of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus…

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He oversaw the launch of Kindle e-readers, Fire devices and Echo speakers. News 

Dave Limp, Amazon Hardware Vice President, to Step Down After 14 Years

Nitin Misra, ,

Dave Limp, the Senior Vice President of Devices and Services at Amazon, has revealed his upcoming departure from the company. Limp, who has been a part of Amazon for almost 14 years, played a crucial role in leading the company’s shift towards producing specialized hardware devices such as Kindle e-readers, Echo speakers with Alexa capabilities, and numerous Fire-branded products. Amazon has a wide range of products in its portfolio. As for the reasoning behind the decision, Limp simply says “it’s time,” noting that while he’s been with Amazon since 2010,…

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Race towards 'autonomous' AI agents grips Silicon Valley (REUTERS) AI 

Silicon Valley Accelerates Development of Autonomous AI Agents

Febin Mathew, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new generation of AI assistants, equipped with advanced technology similar to ChatGPT and its competitors, is emerging, intensifying the competition in the field. This comes approximately ten years after the introduction of virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa. These new AI helpers possess enhanced autonomy, taking the capabilities of virtual assistants to a whole new level. Experimental systems running on GPT-4 or similar models are attracting billions of dollars as Silicon Valley races to capitalize on advances in artificial intelligence. The new assistants — often called “agents” or “co-pilots”…

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Interact with characters from Pixar movies, ‘Star Wars’ and more. News 

Echo Devices Now Enabled with Amazon’s ‘Hey Disney!’ Feature

Febin Mathew, , , ,

Amazon and Disney have collaborated to develop an interactive encounter that merges Alexa’s voice assistant capabilities with Disney’s extensive collection of characters. The newly launched “Hey Disney!” can be accessed on all Echo devices and marks the first instance where Amazon has permitted an assistant other than Alexa on its range of speakers and tablets. When you buy an annual subscription to the new voice assistant from the Alexa Skills Store, you’ll have whole new ways to interact with your Echo gadgets. The wake word changes to “Hey Disney!” which…

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AWS suffers a major outage in the early hours of June 14. (REUTERS) News 

Massive AWS Outage Impacts Alexa, Instagram, FIFA and More

Jim Hendler, , , ,

Numerous clients of Amazon Web Services (AWS) experienced a challenging night due to a significant outage. The impact of the cloud-based service provider’s downtime was widespread, affecting a considerable portion of the internet, including servers for Instagram, FIFA, McDonald’s app, TikTok, and others, which had to manage disruptions. Notably, even Amazon’s own services, such as Alexa and Amazon Music, were not spared. According to the online outage monitor Downdetector, as many as 12,000 notifications were recorded at the peak of the disruption. According to reports, users could not access the…

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The new speaker offers Alexa voice commands that also let you control smart home devices using your voice. Gadgets 

Amazon Launched Echo Pop Smart Speaker powered by Alexa in India

Adarsh V.K, , , ,

Amazon continues to update its range of Echo smart speakers in India, with the latest being the Echo Pop, which was announced at a global event earlier this year. Echo Pop will remind you of desk clocks, except this clock has a grille with built-in speakers and a microphone so Alexa can hear your voice commands. Amazon introduces a new speaker with a new processor that promises faster responses. Amazon echo pop price in India The Amazon Echo Pop has been launched in India at a price of Rs 4,999,…

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Amazon agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations it violated children's privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents News 

Amazon Pays $30 Million for Alexa & Doorbell Camera Privacy Breach

Jim Hendler, , ,

Amazon.com and one of its subsidiaries reached separate multimillion-dollar settlements with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday over violations of children’s privacy using its Alexa voice assistant and its Ring camera in a doorbell. Amazon has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it violated children’s privacy by failing to delete Alexa recordings at parents’ request and keeping them longer than necessary, according to a filing in federal court in Seattle. “While we disagree with the FTC’s allegations against both Alexa and Ring and deny any violation…

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You can no longer set an alarm or order Tide Pods with Melissa McCarthy. News 

Alexa celebrity voices ditched by Amazon with no refunds

Adarsh V.K, ,

If you’ve been saving up to integrate Shaq’s voice into your Alexa devices, you’ve officially done so. Amazon is leaving out all the voices of Alexa-enabled celebrities, including Shaquille O’Neal, Melissa McCarthy, and Samuel L. Jackson, let’s just say it isn’t. Premium audio options are no longer available for purchase and will no longer work even if you purchased some time ago, as reported by The Verge. Which brings us back to the point, and it looks like there won’t be any. This is not alarming news as the volume…

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Amazon.com Inc said its cloud computing division Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its voice assistant service Alexa were back online after a brief outage on Sunday. News 

Amazon Services AWS and Alexa recover after brief outage: Report

Febin Mathew, ,

Amazon.com Inc said its cloud computing division Amazon Web Services (AWS) and its voice assistant service Alexa were back online after a brief outage on Sunday. Alexa was down for thousands of users in the US, according to Downdetector, while hundreds of users reported issues using AWS. Users also reported problems accessing Amazon’s mobile app. Downdetector, which tracks outages by aggregating status reports from multiple sources, including user-submitted errors, showed more than 16,000 reports from Alexa at the peak of the outage. Alexa is now working normally, an Amazon spokesperson…

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Amazon deploys typed instruction function (Bloomberg) News 

Amazon rolls out typed instructions feature in Alexa for iPhone users

Sanjay Patil, ,

Tech company Amazon has started rolling out a new feature for iPhone users, allowing them to initiate a text message to their assistant rather than using voice to communicate with the speaker. According to Mashable, however, the new feature is not available to everyone at the moment. The new Alexa text messaging feature was released as a public preview on iOS, according to the company, which confirmed the feature to The Verge following reports from some users. Users will need the Alexa app for iOS, assuming one is in the…

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Hindi support for Alexa on Fire TV is available for Indian users (Photo Reuters) News 

Amazon adds Hindi support for Alexa on Fire TV

Sanjay Patil, ,

Amazon announced Thursday that users can now converse with Alexa in Hindi on their Fire TV devices. Available from today, customers who choose Hindi as their device language will also see Fire TV lines and menus in Hindi. Hindi language experience includes support for local information and hundreds of skills, among others. How to switch to Hindi on Fire TV Users can get started with Hindi through their Alexa voice remote by going to Fire TV’s language settings by clicking Settings -> Device Options -> Device Language. New Fire TV…

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Amazon Echo smart speakers (Amazon) News 

Amazon to make an Apple announces shift of Alexa work from Nvidia to Inferentia chips

Adriana Marais, ,

Amazon has announced that it will move some of its IT work for the intelligent voice assistant Alexa to its own internal chips, according to a report from Financial Express. The move will see Amazon using its own Inferentia chips instead of the Nvidia chips it has used so far. This move is obviously bad news for Nvidia, but for Amazon, it will make their work cheaper and faster. As it currently works, when an Echo user asks Alexa a question, the request is received by one of the data…

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