Amazon's artificial intelligent software Alexa, the voice of their popular Echo device, may be getting a face to the name next month. According to CNET, "Knight" will combine Alexa with a built-in screen, the exact details of what that screen entails have not yet been released.
Amazon's Echo device, which took the market by surprise with unexpectedly high sales when it was first released in late 2014, has been used mostly for music, though it may be looking to tap into the markets of online shopping and video chats with "Knight".
Amazon combines Alexa with cameras
This information comes soon after the release of Amazon's most recent venture, the Amazon Look which adds a camera to Alexa's smart speaker, allowing users to easily take selfie photos and post them. Although the market for such a device is still speculative, users seem keen on the technology for fashion comparisons and advice.
The addition of a built-in screen for the up and coming Amazon Knight could mean just another way for users to interact with the Alexa voice similar to a Tablet, or it may end up being the visual embodiment of Alexa, bringing us one step closer to a fully human artificial intelligence.
Multiple voices operate one device
Google, not being one to back down from a challenge, announced an update last week to its latest language learning and interface software, the Google Assistant.
The update allows the program to understand the distinct voices of multiple users in a home.
For instance, Dad's Google Home device - packing Google Assistant - can ask for today's calendar of events and not get mom's calendar schedule instead. According to Google's product manager, Yury Pinsky, 6 users will be able to connect their account and interact with just one Google Home.
What this may mean in the future for Google's Pixel mobile phone users, is yet to be determined.
Developers create real dialogue between humans and inanimate objects
Both Google and Amazon have now opened their A.I. voice software to developers to help advance the A.I. conversation, even with some of the technology being released at the risk of increased competition.
The uses for natural voice understanding go beyond our access to the internet and into the hardware of everyday things.
Google, on its Google Assistant developer page, shows how a developer can create their own mixologist that makes you a cocktail on command and starts a conversation with you. After making a Sunrise Cooler in the video, Google Assistant asks, in typical bartender fashion, "Want to hear a joke?"
With the addition of "Knight' and "The Look" to the A.I. conversation, Amazon is showing just how serious it is about artifical intelligence. Amazon already has partners in industries like GE appliances and Whirlpool, and if they are looking to integrate their technology into other types of hardware, they certainly have their hands in the right places of the cookie jar.
Samsung, who acquired Viv Labs in 2016, will be another major competitor in this type of industry. Only recently did Samsung reveal its new A.I. assistant called Bixby. Since Samsung was originally more of a hardware conglomerate than software, this is a dangerous combination for the tech giant that may allow them to leap to the head of the pack of hardware integrated voice recognition technology.
One thing is for sure, if you aren't already speaking to your refrigerator, washer, dryer, or even your coffee maker, chances are you will be soon.
A face anyone could love
Adding a face to the sound of an A.I. would be one of the greatest advantages any one of these giant tech companies could hope for.
A visual interaction with the smart voice may be more inviting to the average consumer, especially older consumers who are hesitant to engage in A.I. technology and young children who tend to be more responsive to visual stimulation.
The first to make this leap will be the first to control these untapped markets and help such consumers build trust and familiarity with their product, which once established, will be hard to break.
What will this "Knight" - Amazon's or otherwise - look like? Stay tuned!
