Moving Beyond Alexa: How AI Can Enhance Voice Assistants for the Future

Good Morning AI Runners

We've got some cool topics for you today:

• Smartest bet in tech history? (AI related)

• Moving Beyond Alexa: How AI Can Enhance Voice Assistants for the Future.

Smartest bet in tech history?

Back in 2019 Microsoft invested a cool $1 billion into the artificial intelligence research company OpenAI. This deal included both cash and credits for Azure, Microsoft's cloud business. Fast forward to November 2022, and OpenAI released ChatGPT, a user-friendly chatbot that's received a ton of buzz and praise for its intelligence. In fact, ChatGPT has apparently been seen as a "code red" for Google's search business.

As we mentioned in a previous issue of RunTheAI, OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise even more capital, with a valuation close to $30 billion (up from its current $14 billion valuation).

But that's not all - there's even speculation that Microsoft may eventually buy out OpenAI. While a buyout would give Microsoft more control, an investment allows for more flexibility and room to experiment.

So, what does all this mean for Microsoft? Well, if ChatGPT lives up to its potential, it could potentially fuel growth for both Bing and Azure. There's even talk that integrating ChatGPT into Bing could give Microsoft a chance to challenge Google's search dominance (something that hasn't happened in two decades).

But let's not forget about OpenAI - the company itself expects to bring in $1 billion in revenue by 2024, according to Reuters. And with the introduction of OpenAI's next-gen AI model, GPT 4, early 2023, it's expected that those revenue levels will increase significantly.

So there you have it - Microsoft's $1 billion investment in OpenAI may just turn out to be one of the smartest bets in tech history.

It's worth noting that while investors may be wary of speculative tech at the moment, artificial intelligence looks like it's here to stay.

Moving Beyond Alexa: How AI Can Enhance Voice Assistants for the Future

Voice assistants are struggling to make money.

In case you missed it, last November Business Insider reported that Amazon is on track to lose $10 billion from its Alexa voice assistant and its smart speaker business.

This news comes at a time when Alexa's competitors are also struggling to monetize their voice assistants.

So, what's going on here?

It turns out that there's a big gap between creating an impressive technology and building a successful business around it. As tech companies are busy laying off staff and preparing for the incoming recession, technologies that are cool but not profitable will need to prove their worth or risk being cut to keep their organizations afloat.

After eight years of Amazon Alexa, here's what we can learn about the technology and business of voice assistants:

• There have been a lot of advances in the technology behind voice assistants like Amazon Alexa. The technology is good, but not good enough.

• There have been improvements in automated speech recognition, natural language processing using deep neural networks, and various application platforms and APIs.

• However, there are still limits to what voice assistants can do. They can perform simple tasks like setting timers and playing music, but as soon as you want them to do something sensitive or complex, they become unreliable. For example, it's very difficult to make purchases or schedule meetings with a voice-only interface.

What's next for voice assistants like Alexa and Siri?

Well, it seems there are a few potential paths for these tech giants to take.

One option is to wait for the AI technology to improve so much that it can power completely new applications. Imagine a voice assistant that anticipates your needs and proactively reaches out to you, rather than waiting for you to invoke it.

Another possibility is to pivot from general-purpose voice assistants to more specialized assistants that can be adapted to different contexts and applications.

This could allow voice assistants to be integrated into the workflows of industries like manufacturing, restaurants, and hotels, and help improve efficiency and cut costs. This business model may be more viable for B2B rather than consumer-facing, as the added value for businesses would be greater.

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