CNNMoney reports on the introduction of the new Echo Look, which features a
[...] camera that lets you take full-body photos and videos to collect and compare outfits. Echo Look does everything the Amazon Echo speaker does -- like read the news and weather -- but it can now tell you what to wear.
[...] It is powered by both machine-learning technology and human opinion. An Amazon spokesperson said the automated results consider "fit, color, styling, seasons and current trends."
The new device is, according to the company's product page, "available exclusively by invitation."
Additional coverage:
- The Verge
- Wired
- Vice Motherboard (Javascript required)
- Tech Crunch
- Business Insider
- CNBC
- Inc.
Related stories:
News Anchor Sets Off Alexa Devices Around San Diego Ordering Unwanted Dollhouses
Police Seek Amazon Echo Data in Murder Case
Is Alexa AI In Your Future?
Amazon Said to Plan Music-Streaming Service for its Echo Speaker
Related Stories
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
A music service exclusive to owners of the Amazon Echo at half the price of competitors?
Amazon wants to launch a music subscription service that would be half the cost of rival services and run only on its Echo smart speaker, according to Recode.
The service would offer unlimited, ad-free music for $4 to $5 a month, half what Spotify and Apple Music charge, sources told the site. The internet retail giant would like to launch the service as early as next month but has yet to finalize deals with the major recording labels, sources told the site.
[...]
Amazon already offers an Amazon Music service as part of its $99 Amazon Prime annual subscription package, but subscribers have access to a limited catalog of music.
I would love to have a house/AI to keep me organized: to tell me when an important date is coming/arrived; remind me of things i have to do (like the laundry) or of really important things like "you have a family.... go pay attention to them".
But at what cost will that come.
Amazon's Alexa AI (as well as all the other personal assistants being developed) is, seemingly, probably moving from a speaker to the room/house you are standing in. This will eventually help you in life, but will also feed the 'machine' of the corporation developing it.
What would it take to create an open source AI to help me/you with daily life? Would you like to have it come from an RMS point of view, or would a less 'commercial', almost open source alternative be acceptable?
Could you really be accepting of something that coordinates your life and helps you out with occasional advertisements and up-stream collection of 'some' data?
From the referenced article:
While some predict mass unemployment or all-out war between humans and artificial intelligence, others foresee a less bleak future. Professor Manuela Veloso, head of the machine learning department at Carnegie Mellon University, envisions a future in which humans and intelligent systems are inseparable, bound together in a continual exchange of information and goals that she calls "symbiotic autonomy." In Veloso's future, it will be hard to distinguish human agency from automated assistance — but neither people nor software will be much use without the other.
[Ed: TFA also includes an interview with Professor Veloso, which provides more detail and discussion]
Several SoylentNews readers have submitted this story:
Amazon Echo is a voice-activated and cloud-connected speaker device that actively listens to a room using several microphones and communicates with Amazon servers to perform various queries and tasks.
Warrant Filed for Amazon Echo Records in Arkansas Murder Case
Arkansas police filed what is believed to be the first request to retrieve information from an Amazon Echo device in a homicide investigation.
[...] Authorities charged Bates, 31, with murder earlier this year, but police in the Ozark city are now looking to find evidence on his Echo, according to The Information [paywalled].
[...] Amazon twice refused to hand over information requested by police, according to The Information, but gave them Bates' account information and purchase history.
The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it "will not release customer information without a valid and binding legal demand properly served on us."
[Continues...]
The Amazon Echo system which does everything from getting your weather report to ordering more laundry detergent can also do some things you don't want it to.
[...] Which is exactly what happened today during CW6 in the morning when Jim Patton and Lynda Martin were talking about a child who accidentally bought a dollhouse and four pounds of cookies
"I love the little girl, saying 'Alexa ordered me a dollhouse,'" said Patton.
As soon as Patton said that, viewers all over San Diego started complaining their echo devices had tried to order doll houses. It's a common problem experts say can be avoided.
[...] Cobb says the Federal Trade Commission is already looking into voice-command devices and toys to make sure the technology is safe and secure. For now, he recommends do your research to keep your personal information controlled and protected.
Source: News anchor sets off Alexa devices around San Diego ordering unwanted dollhouses
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @04:46AM
erect selfie
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @04:57AM (1 child)
How innovative. This is the technology of the future. And we thought digital watch was awesome. We come a long way, didn't we, monkey men?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:15AM
Calculator wristwatches were awesome. Smartwatches are shit.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:06AM (2 children)
// 7
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(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:14AM (1 child)
Basically on-topic.
💊💊💊💊🔪🔪🔪
🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆
I don't think we're getting an invite.
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(Score: 2) by butthurt on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:35AM
Asking may be necessary. According to the CNBC article,
Interested customers can request an invitation from Amazon now.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:20AM (5 children)
No joke, no mistake in the summary, this is really the only selling point they are going for. Machine learning judgment of your look ("hey! you're goddamn ugly! just put anything on!"), and maybe a few advanced selfies/nude photos.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:27AM (2 children)
Unless the majority of the customers are real prudes, this has to start recommending birthday suits to everyone (or nearly everyone).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday April 29 2017, @06:28AM (1 child)
Well...
If somebody can drive into a lake because a computer voice told them to...
I can see the headlines now. "Floridaman Leaves Home In Birthday Suit After Alexa Glitch"
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 29 2017, @06:49AM
"Alexa Responds: It Is Summer And It Is The Current Trend"
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(Score: 2) by butthurt on Saturday April 29 2017, @05:51AM (1 child)
It uses "both machine-learning technology and human opinion," I put in the summary. How humans will be consulted is unclear. Will the world's greatest designers opine on the photos, or will the task fall to Amazon's Mechanical Turk? Perhaps Tinder users could be tapped.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday April 29 2017, @06:00AM
Machine learning is all about hoovering up data and creating a passable imitation of human judgment. The data could come from a variety of sources. And as we can see, "current trends" means that it will be plugged in to the fashion scene. Basically another planet for most if not all of our users.
Pay $199, and Amazon will helpfully tell you which clothes to buy. All available on Amazon.com.
Now all they need is Kathy Griffin to do the voice for Alexa 2.0.
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