
>> NARRATOR: The voice known as
Alexa would embed Amazon deeper
into the lives of millions of
people.
>> Alexa, what do you do?
>> I can play music, answer
questions, get the news and
weather.
>> They call it a personal
assistant, and just that term
implies this intimate connection
that we then begin to develop
with Amazon.
>> Alexa, sing the ABC song.
>> ♪ A, B, C, D, E, F... ♪
>> I believe that when we think
about the future and the future
with artificial intelligence,
given where we currently are
today, Alexa in some ways
represents the moment that it
becomes seamlessly interwoven
with our lives.
>> Alexa, how many teaspoons are
in a tablespoon?
>> One tablespoon equals three
teaspoons.
>> Oh, okay.
>> And the problem is that we
forget that it's there.
>> Alexa, lights on.
>> Okay.
>> NARRATOR: But Alexa is also
listening-- and she's learning.
>> I'm answering questions and
learning more.
>> NARRATOR: And that helps
Amazon in the race to dominate
artificial intelligence.
>> Alexa...
>> Every time you ask Alexa
something, you're making the
Alexa algorithm better.
It's one of the reasons why
Amazon, having had a head start,
is able to kind of preserve that
head start, because they've got
the most data of anyone.
>> Alexa is one more way for
Amazon to gather extremely
valuable data.
And this data collection is
extremely important to this
business model.
It's extremely hard to do, and,
you know, convincing people to
just deploy something like this
in their home is a brilliant
trick.
>> NARRATOR: Dave Limp is
Amazon's head of devices.
>> How is it that you
convinced tens of millions of
people to put what is
essentially a, a listening
device in their homes?
>> Well, I, I would first
disagree with the premise.
It doesn't, it's not a
listening device.
The, the device in its core
is...
It has a detector on it.
We call it internally a
"wake-word engine."
And that detector is
listening-- not really
listening-- it's detecting one
thing and one thing only, which
is the word you've said that you
want to get the attention of
that Echo.
>> NARRATOR: Once the device is
awake and the blue light is on,
it's recording.
And last year, it was revealed
that Amazon employs thousands of
people around the world to
listen and transcribe some of
those recordings to help train
the system.
>> Do you think that you
did a good enough job of
disclosing that to consumers?
That, that there are humans
involved in listening to these
recordings?
>> We, we try to articulate what
we're doing with our products as
clearly as we can.
But if I could go back in time,
and I could be more clear, and
the team could be more clear, on
how we were using human beings
to annotate a small percentage
of the data, I would, for sure.
What I would say, though, is
that once we realized that
customers didn't clearly
understand this, and within a
couple of days, we added an
opt-out feature, so that
customers could turn off
annotation if they, if they so
chose.
And then within a month or two
later, we allowed people to
auto-delete data, which they
also asked for within that,
within that time frame.
You know, we're not going to
always be perfect, but when we
make mistakes, I think the key
is that we correct them very
quickly on behalf of customers.
>> NARRATOR: But even one of the
founders of Amazon Web Services
approaches his Alexa devices
with caution.
>> When do you turn off
your Alexa?
>> I turn off my Alexa when I
know for a fact that the
conversation that I am going to
have, or, or whenever I just
want to have a private moment.
I don't want certain
conversations to be heard by
humans, conversations that I
know for a fact are not things
that should not be shared, then
I actually turn off those
particular listening devices.
>> We have had an incredible
year.
The team has invented a lot on
behalf of customers, and I
cannot wait to show you what we
have.
>> NARRATOR: So far, Limp and
his team have made Alexa
compatible with more than
100,000 products.
>> Echo Frames allow you to get
done more around you and be more
present in the everyday.
>> Now they're going to know
more about you than anyone
knows.
They're trying to move as
intimately as possible and as
quietly as possible into
everyday life.
>> Echo Loop is a smart ring,
packed with ways to stay on top
of your day.
>> Amazon wants to have the
entire environment essentially
miked.
>> Alexa, start my running
playlist.
>> They want your walk in the
park, they want your run down
the city street.
>> Nationwide's teamed up with
Amazon to bring you the all-new
Echo Auto.
>> They want what you do in your
car, they want what you do in
your home.
>> Amazon Smart Oven.
>> Alexa, bake for 30 minutes at
350 degrees.
(oven beeps)
>> All these intimacies, all
this insight is being
integrated, analyzed and
integrated.
>> Alexa, alarm off.
>> That is an extraordinary kind
of power that has never before
existed.
