Amazon unveils a 'smarter and more conversational' Alexa amid AI race among tech companies

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Amazon has unveiled a slew of gadgets and an update to its popular voice assistant Alexa, infusing it with more generative AI features amid the heated AI race among tech companies

NEW YORK — Amazon has unveiled a slew of gadgets and an update to its popular voice assistant Alexa, infusing it with more generative AI features to better compete with other tech companies who've rolled out flashy chatbots.

During a demonstration at the company's second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia on Wednesday, Amazon’s devices chief Dave Limp said the latest language model will allow consumers to have more human-like conversations with a “smarter and more conversational” Alexa.

The company showed different interactions through a pre-recorded video and a live demo where Alexa responds to prompts to write a poem, give ideas for a date night and provide a breakdown of a football game. Limp also demonstrated a capability where the voice assistant can prep a text message, though his exchange with Alexa included some awkward pauses where he had to repeat some prompts twice before getting an answer.

The company says its also working on a “speech-to-speech” model that will, for example, allow Alexa to exhibit human-like attributes, such as laughter and phrases like “uh-huh” during conversations.

Amazon holds the annual gadget event to exhibit new devices in front of journalists and industry insiders before they officially hit the market. Among other things, the tech giant also showcased a fee-based emergency service for Alexa that allows users to call for help without using the phone, new Echo smart speakers as well as Amazon Fire tablets for kids.

In August, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced Limp would retire after almost 14 years with the