January 6, 2017, Las Vegas, Nevada: At the annual Consumer Electronics Show, high ranking members of the tech industry were starry eyed and buzzing about the Amazon Echo. Amazon, a popular and behemoth online commerce company is now emerging in the tech world with their smart speaker Echo, with voice activated virtual assistant, Alexa. This device, which comes in different sizes, connects to the Apple iCloud and can connect to various smartphones and computers. The device is voice activated and performs functions based on its artificial intelligence.
It has a speaker/microphone that is constantly available and will connect to the Amazon servers to figure out what you want. First, you say either “Alexa” or “Echo” to signal that you are using Alexa. You can ask Alexa to make phone calls, play music or take pictures from your smartphone camera. Alexa can read audiobooks, order Ubers and food, provide directions, and more.
Noah Brown ‘19 says of Alexa, “It’s been really helpful. I kind of find it to be a better Siri. I use it for alarms, playing music, and just all around things in life.”
Alexa is now being integrated into other products as well. Ford announced that they will incorporate the virtual assistant in future cars. People could orally command their car to play music or provide directions, instead of fumbling with different buttons in their car while driving. Additionally, LG is now building Alexa into future refrigerators. Many companies have integrated Alexa into their housing systems , so that technology already within the house can be managed through the virtual assistant. A person can simply say, “Alexa, turn on the lights” or “Alexa, it feels hot in here, please turn the heat down.”
In an interview with AFP’s tech editor, Rob Lever, Steve Rabuchin, the Amazon’s head for Alexa, said, “We continue to be thrilled with the response we are getting from developers and the momentum of Alexa.” Amazon claims it has sold millions of the devices, raising the company’s profile without manufacturing a smartphone, which is now considered a unique approach in the tech industry.
Amazon is the first company in recent years to emphasize communication that isn’t through touch screen, setting them apart from others in the tech industry. Apple has Siri, a voice activation feature on their smartphones, yet didn’t explore the feature much further, consequently closing a door that Amazon has successfully opened and explored in greater depth.
Despite many new features, the product has flaws. A viral video “Amazon Alexa Gone Wild” hit number four on the trending page of the popular website, Youtube. In the video, a small toddler asks Alexa to play “Digger, Digger” which was meant to be “Twinkle, Twinkle.” Alexa responds in a monotone voice, “You want to hear a station for porn” and then starts spewing out inappropriate language containing words “hot chick” and “amateur girl.” Then the family rushes over telling the device to stop while overwhelmed with laughter. Amazon contacted the family to apologize, yet they cannot stop the hilarity of the video which now has 9,020,273 views.
Amazon is continuing to work on their artificial intelligence as there are still evident areas for improvement as seen in the video. The company wishes to improve the quality of the microphone, as the device can easily misunderstand what a person is requesting. Amazon also intends to expand what Alexa can do in terms of connecting with other platforms on the internet. Alexa has certain ‘skills’ which are very similar to apps on the app store. A customer can download a ‘skill’ depending on what they want the Alexa to do. Some skills include Alexa reading out recipes while you cook, playing jeopardy with you, and giving out steps to a workout. There are now 7,000 apps available.
Alexa poises Amazon to be a power in the tech industry, as Alexa will soon be at the center of many tech startups and branches of electronics. Different apps will pair up with Amazon because the voice activation offers expansion for the previous boundaries of a game or function. Brown notes, “I think the technology in the future is going to become more hands free and voice controlled … life will be a lot easier with this, hopefully.” People are excited to see where the product goes in the future and what Alexa will become.
As for purchasing it now, Brown says he really recommends it. Voice-activated technology expands the realms of possibility within this technological age. Will we soon live in a world where, with the snap of your fingers, you can get your chores done? Design online without touching any buttons? Technology is the future and Alexa is giving us some clear predictions of what that could entail.
