I’ve Always Tried to Avoid Using AI But Amazon Alexa+ Might Win Me Over
Rob Rich/SlashGear
Since its launch, I’ve been sceptical of Amazon’s Alexa (voice assistant/service). Siri, too, if I’m being honest. I didn’t like the idea that something would always listen to me, or learn my habits in order to make recommendations – whether it was for purchases or not.
Advert
After watching the official Alexa+ demonstration today and doing a few hands off demonstrations, it was a surprise to me that I felt conflicted. I shouldn’t invite Alexa to my home, but an even smarter Alexa+ is a different story. It’s hard to resist. It’s hard to resist, especially since it will be included as a perk of Amazon Prime (or, alternately, $19.99 per monthly) when the service is finally launched in the coming months.
There’s more to voice-assisted services than rainbows and sunshine. Some aspects of the new service don’t mean much to me. Some aspects of the service I don’t even want to touch. Its advertised and demonstrated utility makes it hard to ignore.
Advertisement.
Talking is easier.
Rob Rich/SlashGear
The Alexa+ launch was dominated by the fact that it would be “natural” to use. Amazon deserves credit for a good portion of this. Alexa+ seems to be able to parse your words much more accurately. Even if it misunderstood a few words, it was able to understand context and intent. There were some moments when Alexa+ struggled in a way that was frustrating.
Advert
In a demo focusing on the kitchen, for example, it missed “salmon” even though other ingredients mentioned later in the sentence were picked up. Alexa+ was able to correct itself after the presenter verbally explained what had been misunderstood.
It was also impressive that Alexa+ could continue a conversation by keeping track of previous commands and queries. It remains to be seen how useful this feature will be for a mass release, but in a controlled environment Alexa+ had no problem navigating from questions about the soccer schedule of children to finding out when parents are responsible for bringing snacks. When asked, Alexa+ will create reminders. Advertisement
My main criticism is that a more conversational Alexa might be a little too conversational. I don’t think I would want an AI crowdsourced breakdown of how decorated a musician is when I only want to find out the name a song.
Alexa can work with many things
Rob Rich/SlashGear
Alexa+ is compatible with many smart devices that are connected. Phones, Echo Dots, TVs and other smart devices are all compatible with Alexa+. What’s even more interesting is that it was able switch between them fairly quickly and seamlessly.
Advert
Alexa+ was able to answer every question asked about a song that was based on the scene of a movie. The presenter could also switch between different audio outputs using contextual indicators or referencing different rooms, such as “doing dishes,” whereupon Alexa+ understood this meant the kitchen.
Amazon has also highlighted Alexa+’s compatibility with other services, such as Spotify and Netflix. It helps with the previously mentioned features, such as determining a song title or movie by being able pull up that media. As long as Alexa+ can access your hardware, it will work.
Advert
While I may not benefit from this feature, I can see how it could be useful for others. It was also entertaining to watch the presenter throw a vague film synopsis to Alexa+, and see it find the movie on the first attempt.
Oddly, Alexa’s kitchen features are the ones that tempt me most
Rob Rich/SlashGear
The hardest part of the day for most people is deciding what to eat. It’s even more difficult if you have limited ingredients, little money, a limited amount of time, or dietary restrictions.
Advert
It was impressive to watch someone tell Alexa+ that they were planning on having a dinner party with friends (who had specific food preferences), then ask for recipe suggestions, and then create a shopping list. Then, having them list the ingredients they have on hand to get more recipes suggestions and Alexa+ remember those food preferences from before was really cool.
It’s probably cooler than it should be, but in our house, we deal with many food nuanced and uncertain situations. This seems like a game changer. This is in addition to Alexa+ setting up reminders based on how long it is expected to take a recipe to complete versus when the dinner is planned.
Advertisement.
Alexa’s impressive, but am I convinced?
Rob Rich/SlashGear
Amazon’s Alexa+ event was an eye-opener for me. I still have some reservations.
Its improved features depend on whether you own and use other smart devices. But, outside of a few smartphones, a Fire TV Stick 4K Max (second generation), and a security camera for your home, there’s little we can connect it to. I’ll scratch off the speaker control because it isn’t very useful. It will depend on whether your other smart home tech is compatible with Amazon.
Advert
The food recommendations are the most important. As useful as it would be, I am concerned about food sensitivities. It’s obvious that it could (and should) be double checked by a human before diving in. But I’m not certain how much trust I can place in Alexa+ for catching and avoiding food with a few very specific ingredients. It’s not as if AIs don’t have hallucinations.
Alexa+ will be free when Prime launches, and we already have Prime, like many people. This low barrier of entry could be the key to Alexa+’s success in gaining mass market traction.
Advert
