Amazon Alexa Turns 10: Successes and Failures of Amazon's Artificial Intelligence Assistant.
In the episode of The Vergecast, the current state of Amazon's voice assistant is analyzed, as it marks ten years since its launch.
The launch of Alexa was not marked by a grand event or ambitious statements about its future. It was more of a quiet release at Amazon, akin to a phone charger with a made-up name or an imitation version of your favorite blush. Ten years ago, on November 6, 2014, Amazon introduced the Echo, ushering in a new era of smart speakers. This device quickly spawned countless additional models, both from Amazon and other companies. It became a symbol of a way to interact with technology focused on voice use, within a revolution known as “ambient computing,” which Amazon and others believed would transform our daily activities. Nowadays, there are Alexa devices in millions of homes, listening and responding all day long.
In an episode of The Vergecast, the true impact of this advancement was explored. Journalist Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joined the conversation to discuss the reasons behind the surprising launch in 2014, as well as the exponential growth of the Alexa ecosystem and the challenges faced by both Amazon and other companies in their quest to understand the true potential of these smart speakers. According to some metrics, Alexa is an undeniable success, a fully integrated part of our technological lives. However, despite this success, Alexa has not lived up to Amazon's ambitious expectations. It has not become an ultra-powerful computer in the style of Star Trek; it’s not even a better way to shop. Over time, its usage has primarily been limited to music and timers.
However, significant changes are on the horizon for Alexa. The potential improvement known as “Remarkable Alexa” is being widely discussed, which could redefine the virtual assistant, as Amazon plans to base its underlying technology on advanced language models and generative artificial intelligence. It now seems clear that Amazon's big idea might be right. The question is whether the technology is finally ready to make it a reality and if Amazon will be willing to release updates that allow us to see it. The Echo was a surprise a decade ago, so perhaps it’s time to expect another novelty.
