Amazon Alexa Is Getting Claude AI in October Revamp: Report, Bluesky Added 2 Million New Users in a Week Following Brazil’s X Ban and some good news and bad news for Intel.
All this and more on the “best of times, worst of times” edition of Hashtag Trending. I’m your host, Jim Love. Let’s get into it.
According to a recent report from Reuters, Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa will be getting an infusion of Anthropic’s Claude AI during its upcoming revamp scheduled for next month.
The news, if true, would be a significant development for the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence company Anthropic.
Back in June, there were reports that Amazon was planning a major overhaul of Alexa, which has cost the company billions of dollars with little return on that investment. The revamp was said to include a paid tier that would offer more advanced generative AI capabilities to customers. At that time, Amazon claimed that they would be using their own AI to power Alexa.
But rumours surfaced throughout the summer that Amazon’s AI was experiencing real difficulties. Which has led to the most recent rumours that Alexa will be powered by Anthropic’s Claude.ai
Turning to Claude is not a total surprise, Amazon has invested 4 billion dollars in Anthropic.
Claude, as many will know was started by a former OpenAI executive and is regarded by many as equal or at times superior to OpenAI as a text based generative AI model. It’s highly regarded for its natural conversational tone and content.
It does have some differences. Claude does not have the full multimodal capabilities of ChatGPT and most interestingly for a potential Alexa replacement – it doesn’t yet have the ability to search the internet – its knowledge is limited to its last training date reportedly August of 2023. And at least at this point, Claude does not have its own voice chat facilities. Presumably these obstacles would have to be overcome to make it a viable model to replace Alexa.
When asked about the partnership, an Amazon spokesperson did not directly address whether Claude would be part of the Alexa technology but stated that Amazon uses a variety of AI models to power Alexa, not just language models. The spokesperson noted that different AI models serve different purposes, and Alexa relies on a mix of technologies.
So it is possible that Claude will be integrated into Alexa’s current capabilities to browse the internet and have voice conversations with the user.
So we’ll see if the Amazon’s “October surprise” will not only include a paid version Alexa rumoured to cost between $5 and $10 per month and e offered alongside a free version without some of the advanced features – it may also include a new partnership with Anthropic’s Claude.ai.
Sources include: CNET
The decentralized social network Bluesky has revealed that it has added 2 million new users over the last week. This is a significant amount of growth for a platform that previously had around 8.4 million users overall.
The rapid influx of new users is most likely due to the recent ban of the social network formerly known as Twitter, now called X, in Brazil. The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered internet service providers to block access to X after the platform refused to ban specific accounts accused of spreading disinformation. The court also ordered Apple and Google to remove the X app from their app stores, and fined people caught using VPNs to access the website.
After X became inaccessible in Brazil, users in the country sought out new platforms, and Bluesky experienced a massive spike in the number of unique daily likes, posters, and followers at the end of August. Rivals Mastodon and Threads did experience some increases, Threads became a number one app in Brazil’s app store, but ultimately it was Bluesky that got the bulk of the new members.
While Bluesky is not yet as robust as Twitter, it is familiar and set to expand its functions. The platform recently teased that its next major app update will include video features, which could help retain its new user base.
Bluesky is a decentralized social network that was previously funded and founded in 2019 by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey. The platform launched as an invite-only network but opened to the public earlier this year. It has introduced features that users may look for if they’re leaving X, such as direct messaging, with plans to add group messaging, media support, and end-to-end encryption in the future.
However, Dorsey has since exited the Bluesky board and has claimed that the platform is “literally repeating all the mistakes” he made while running Twitter. Nevertheless, the influx of 2 million new users in just one week is a significant milestone for Bluesky as it continues to position itself as a decentralized alternative to the traditional social media landscape.
Sources include: Engadget
And on the Intel front, some good news and some potential bad news. Here is a good news, bad news story on Intel:
The Good News: Intel’s New Lunar Lake Chip Technology Promises Impressive Performance
The latest news from Intel is full of promising developments for the company’s upcoming Lunar Lake chip technology. Intel is touting “historic x86 power efficiency” with the new Core Ultra 200V-series processors, claiming they will deliver up to 20.1 hours of battery life – beating out competing chips from Qualcomm and AMD by a wide margin.
Intel says the 50% reduction in package power consumption compared to prior generations will result in twice the performance per watt. The new chips are also said to feature the world’s fastest mobile CPU cores, with 30% faster gaming performance than rival processors. This positions Intel’s Lunar Lake chips as a strong contender against AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series and Qualcomm’s latest offerings.
The Bad News: Intel’s Foundry Business Hits a Setback with Broadcom
According to a Reuters report, Intel’s foundry services have suffered a blow after tests with chipmaker Broadcom reportedly failed.
The report states that silicon wafers processed using Intel’s most advanced 18A manufacturing technology did not meet Broadcom’s standards during testing. This is a major disappointment, as attracting big-name customers like Broadcom is crucial to Intel’s turnaround plans under CEO Pat Gelsinger.
The failure of the Broadcom tests is a significant setback for Intel’s foundry ambitions, which the company has been counting on to help offset losses in its core CPU business. This could make it harder for Intel to fill the capacity at its new manufacturing facilities and achieve the breakeven goals it has set for the foundry division.
And that’s our show for today. You can find show notes at our news site technewsday.com or .ca take you pick.
Thanks for listening. I’m your host Jim Love, have a Thrilling Thursday.
