There have been a lot of ridiculously cool and unique things I’ve gotten the chance to see while working at Amazon. None have been more exciting than Amazon Alexa. Alexa is billed as a future app. An all-in-one device that can play your music and tell you what the weather is like, or shut off your thermometer when it gets too hot. In reality, it’s all that and so much more.
She (yes, I had a long discussion with the team on why I call her a ‘she’… that’s another blog post) is incredible and is evolving rapidly. Many predict AI will be a big focus for companies like Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. Still, no one is positioned better than Amazon to create the first real Jarvis. Alexa already controls some wifi devices; she can turn lights on and off by my command or by prompts written through IFTTT. With the community creating fun apps like the PokeDex for Amazon Alexa, it’s only a matter of time before someone connects the rest of our Smart Devices to her.
- Alexa doing your grocery shopping via Amazon Fresh? Check!
- Alexa purchasing last-minute birthday gifts for your nephew via voice commands from the mobile app? Check!
- Alexa buying tickets to the new Adele/Beyonce mega-mashup concert? (This is my fantasy world, I can do what I want). CHECK!
I fully expect to see someone attempt to build Jarvis this year. At least version 1.0 of him, especially after Nadine arrived. The only thing I ask is the ability to customize Alexa’s voice.
I’m sold if Amazon lets me turn Alexa into Carson from Downton Abbey!