Author: Katie Robertson / Source: New York Times
Grant Hindsley/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — Alexa is multiplying. And that’s exactly what Amazon wants.
The smart speaker assistant, which debuted four years ago with the tech company’s Echo device, has gone from a handy gadget for streaming music to a ubiquitous home tool, able to do everything from switching on the lights to ordering an Uber.
Amazon announced recently that it had sold more than 100 million Alexa devices. And the company is all in. Last fall, it unveiled more than a dozen assorted devices that tap into the voice assistant, including a microwave and a wall clock.
Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president for devices and services, said Alexa was “at scale” and had gained the most traction by making parts of daily life more convenient.
“We started with the home; we’re now adding the car,” Mr. Limp said at The New York Times’s New Work Summit last week.
He said that people find tasks that become habitual to them — often very different things.
“At least once a week, often every day, I get an email from somebody who just says that the Echo has changed their lives,” Mr. Limp said. “They might not have all their mobility, they might be a little elderly and they find companionship with Alexa, they find the ability to interact in a way they couldn’t before.”
Mr. Limp said that Alexa might feel somewhat human to some because of the “empathy” put into it.
“If you’re an adult and you say you’re depressed or suicidal,” he said, “or you’re potentially a victim of domestic abuse and you’re talking…
The post Amazon Bets on an Empathetic Alexa appeared first on FeedBox.