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ChatGPT makes generative AI explode, and with it, Amazon's big dream of Alexa falls through.

"Stupid as a stone!"

This is Microsoft CEO Nadella's first wave of voice assistants-Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa and Microsoft's own Cortana-in an interview with the Financial Times.

Yes, in front of ChatGPT, these once-star products are instantly eclipsed.

Obviously, as the tech community has become crazy about treating generative AI as "The next big thing," Silicon Valley has become a lot more utilitarian.

Amazon's big dreams for Alexa fall short It's been more than a decade since Bezos excitedly outlined his vision for Alexa on a whiteboard at Amazon headquarters.

Alexa helps people with tasks like shopping, controlling gadgets and even reading bedtime stories to children.

But it's clear that Amazon's founder's grand vision for voice-controlled new computing platforms has fallen through.

With the birth of ChatGPT, the hype in the tech world has turned to generative AI, and it is clear that the new "The next big thing" is AIGC.

The previous "The next big thing", Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft's voice assistant, has been highly sought after, into a snub.

Yes, the explosion of ChatGPT changed the culture of Silicon Valley.

According to a former Amazon Alexa marketing executive, the culture of "growth" has now shifted to how products help the company make money.

A current Alexa employee said the leader's most recent order was: "If you have anything that can be directly profitable, do it now."

Under new CEO Andy Jassy, the new order led to layoffs at Alexa late last year as executives scrutinized each product's direct contribution to the company's bottom line.

The e-commerce giant has laid off 18,000 workers in response to pressure to boost profits during the global tech downturn.

Nadella berates voice assistant: too stupid and in Microsoft CEO Nadella's mouth, whether it is Apple's Siri, Amazon's Alexa, or Microsoft's own Cortana, has been "stupid as a stone."

Nadella says none of these voice assistants work. "Our product was supposed to be the new front end for a lot of information, but it didn't work."

This relentless rebuke contrasts sharply with his comments in 2016, when Nadella said that "bots are the latest apps."

Yes, voice assistants were quite popular in those years.

Now, Nadella is blunt: Microsoft Bing integrated into ChatGPT, Microsoft has become the leader in the field of AI chatbots, although it has been almost forgotten by most Internet users.

Today, ChatGPT's ability to understand complex instructions makes all voice assistants instantly look stupid.

Adam Cheyer, CEO of Siri, said,"Nobody knows what they can and can't do." They don't know what they can and can't do."

A glorified radio, and Alexa often blurts out "you know what" in inappropriate situations, is a clever add-on that annoys users.

"People's patience is limited and they get angry," said Carolina Milanesi, president of Creative Strategies, a market research group. "That's not the job you asked him to do. It crossed the line."

Benedict Evans, an independent technology analyst, noted that for many users Alexa is just a "glorified clock radio."

Amazon said it remains committed to Alexa and remains "optimistic as ever."

"Alexa's user base continues to grow. By 2022, global engagement has increased by more than 30 percent; more than 50 percent of Alexa customers now shop with it."

In many ways, Alexa is an extraordinary success for Amazon.

According to Insider Intelligence, Alexa is now the leader in voice assistants in the United States, with approximately 66% market share.

Insider estimates that since it was first introduced in 2014, one in five Americans will now get a response to calling Alexa in their homes.

Amazon says third-party manufacturers have built more than 140,000 Alexa-compatible products, and these operating systems control more than 300 million smart devices, such as lights or cameras.

IDC estimates that more than half of Alexa users interact with it at least once a day, higher than Apple Siri and Google Assistant.

But two people familiar with Alexa said the direct value of these interactions to Amazon was not high, and there was disagreement within Alexa about how to measure Alexa's impact on Amazon spending.

The current mix of emotions stands in stark contrast to Bezos 'fiery passion for Alexa.

Bezos even directed Alexa's testing and development and personally designed the look and language of marketing materials.

"Our goal is not to make Alexa profitable," the former Amazon marketing executive said. "It's about selling equipment--we sell a lot of equipment."

Could Amazon's dream come true? Having missed out on the smartphone boom, Amazon has been hoping Alexa will open up a vast new ecosystem, including entirely new, voice-powered apps that will be lucrative. Amazon named the apps "Skills" and opened Alexa to third-party developers.

Amazon said in November that the Amazon Store now has more than 130,000 Skills. Google has taken a similar approach to its assistants, calling it "conversational behavior."

But Skills on Alexa is largely free, developers say it's almost impossible to monetize, and users struggle to find new apps to try.

"I think there are still a lot of people who don't even know what Skills is," said Brian Tarbox of Wabi Sabi Software, the developer of Skills.

Google faces similar challenges. In June, it will end access to third-party "conversational actions" made specifically for voice assistants, instead instructing them to add voice capabilities to Android smartphone and tablet apps.

IDC analyst Adam Wright said Amazon has no similar fallback without smartphones, and continued competition between Apple and Android "could erode sales gains made through smart slightly."

But a renaissance of voice assistants could come from generative AI, which might make them smarter.

"ChatGPT has caused a stir," said a current Amazon employee. "Executives gave instructions to the team to brainstorm and make Alexa smarter."

Siri co-founder Cheyer added that the technology has the potential to put voice assistants back on the sci-fi trajectory they originally envisioned.

"It's really about quality. Fundamentally, this technology will enable breadth, flexibility, and complexity that the previous generation of voice assistants lacked. There could be a renaissance in voice assistants."

References:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/03/amazons-big-dreams-for-alexa-fall-short/

This article comes from Weixin Official Accounts: Xinzhiyuan (ID: AI_era)

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