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Amazon Is Designing Custom AI Chips For Alexa (theverge.com)
According to a report (paywalled) from The Information, Amazon is designing a custom artificial intelligence chip that would power future Echo devices and improve the quality and response time of its Alexa voice assistant. "The move closely followers rivals Apple and Google, both of which have already developed and deployed custom AI hardware at various scales," reports The Verge. From the report: While Amazon is unlikely to physically produce the chips, given its lack of both fabrication experience and a manufacturing presence in China, the news does pose a risk to the businesses of companies like Nvidia and Intel. Both companies have shifted large portions of their chipmaking expertise to AI and the future of the burgeoning field, and both make money by designing and manufacturing chips for companies like Apple, Amazon, and others. Amazon, which seeks to stay competitive in the smart home hardware market and in the realm of consumer-facing AI products, has nearly 450 people with chip expertise on staff, reports The Information, thanks to key hires and acquisitions the e-commerce giant has made in the last few years. The plan is for Amazon to develop its own AI chips so Alexa-powered products in its ever-expanding Echo line can do more on-device processing, instead of having to communicate with the cloud, a process that increases response rate times.
We buy Alexa, we put it in our office and home, we hook it up, it's always on
Without AI, it's always listening
With AI, it's constantly listening, monitoring, guessing, thinking ...
From the mundane, it knows when you need to buy cereals
For the not-so mundane, it knows when your fridge gonna break down, what's the wear and tear on your car
For the scary part - it'll tell Amazon about who your friends are, what you guys talk about, when you meet,, what you guys are up to
In other words, Amazon will know what you will do, before you know what you want to do