Amazon continues to continually improve Alexa, the voice assistant built into Echo speakers. Now, the smart assistant is able to predict the wishes of its users based on the questions asked. In practical terms, artificial intelligence seeks to guess what you think using your interactions.
In a blog post published on November 11, 2020, Amazon details the latest improvements made to Alexa. In order to make interactions even more natural, the voice assistant will now “deduce users’ latent goals, implicit wishes not directly expressed.”
In practical terms, if you ask Alexa “how long does it take to brew tea?”,your Echo speaker will deduce that you are considering brewing tea. In response, Alexa will offer to set a timer for the infusion. She will then reply: “5 minutes is a good place to start. Do you want me to set a 5-minute timer?”. In the same way, Alexa will spontaneously provide you with information that could be useful for planning a trip to the beach if you ask her the weather at the coast.
On the same subject: Alexa can now print what you want on request
Amazon explains how Alexa can predict your wishes
Unsurprisingly, this new feature is based on “deep learning.” This method of learning allows artificial intelligence to evolve and make decisions based on a large amount of data. In this case, Alexa relies on all your previous interactions to define the actions to propose.
In the end, the voice assistant evolves as you use it. Over time, his reactions look increasingly relevant. “Over time, the model improves its predictions through active learning, which identifies interactions where the user may need more information,” Amazon says.
For now, this improvement is reserved for the English-language version of Amazon Alexa, only in the United States. In a second phase, Amazon will offer its new deep learning system to foreign versions of its assistant. Unfortunately, Jeff Bezos’ firm did not provide a deployment date. What do you think of this option? We are waiting for your opinion in the comments.
