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Senior VP Head Scientist of Amazon Alexa, Rohit Prasad in Lisbon.

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Amazon's Alexa head said his company is right in the middle of the boom in generative artificial intelligence, the technology that's spreading rapidly across Silicon Valley and has spurred an arms race between Microsoft and Google.

The tech world has been enamored with a new generation of chatbots since OpenAI's ChatGPT went viral late last year. That's pressured companies like Amazon to showcase their own capabilities in generative AI. Amazon's biggest entry into the market thus far has been through an AI service for cloud customers.

However, Rohit Prasad, Amazon's senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa, said it's wrong to think the e-retailer has missed out in generative AI, which allows people to convert text-based queries into creative and thorough answers.

"Alexa has been and is at the forefront of AI for a long time," Prasad told CNBC in an interview. "We've been part of the cultural zeitgeist and it hasn't slowed down."

Prasad added that contrary to ChatGPT, which remains accessible through a web browser, Alexa is an "instantly available, personal AI" that people can communicate with by voice.

Amazon established an early lead in voice software after it debuted its Alexa digital assistant in 2014. More than 500 million Alexa-powered devices have been sold worldwide, the company said Wednesday. The last time Amazon gave an update on that number was in 2019, when it was at 100 million.

The Alexa assistant, now plugged into everything from smart speakers to thermostats, has long depended on machine learning technology to answer their queries by fetching relevant data.

But the rise of AI-powered chatbots, which can perform sophisticated functions like writing fiction and coding software, has highlighted the limitations of digital assistants such as Alexa. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' sci-fi vision for Alexa to resemble an all-knowing computer from "Star Trek" hasn't exactly panned out.

Prasad said Amazon is working to make Alexa more conversational and intelligent. One way it hopes to do so is through a new version of its own large language model, called Alexa Teacher Model. Large language models power generative AI, and Alexa is already powered by Amazon's LLM.

The goal is for Alexa to be able to answer complex requests, and understand more about users.

"This is where all the ambient context of who you are, what are you asking, where you are, comes in to make the best decision for you in that moment and on your behalf," Prasad said.

In his latest letter to investors, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said generative AI and LLMs are areas where the company is "investing heavily," noting that the technologies stand to "transform and improve virtually every customer experience."

The company has posted job listings suggesting it plans to implement a ChatGPT-style product in search on its online store, Bloomberg reported. Amazon may also add more generative AI-like features to Alexa focused on entertainment and storytelling, according to Insider.

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Amazon's Alexa head says company is 'at the forefront of A.I.' as chatbots explode - CNBC

Built on ServiceNow Platform With NVIDIA AI Software and DGX Infrastructure, Custom Large Language Models to Bring Intelligent Workflow Automation to Enterprises

Knowledge 2023ServiceNow and NVIDIA today announced a partnership to develop powerful, enterprise-grade generative AI capabilities that can transform business processes with faster, more intelligent workflow automation.

Using NVIDIA software, services and accelerated infrastructure, ServiceNow is developing custom large language models trained on data specifically for its ServiceNow Platform, the intelligent platform for end-to-end digital transformation.

This will expand ServiceNows already extensive AI functionality with new uses for generative AI across the enterprise including for IT departments, customer service teams, employees and developers to strengthen workflow automation and rapidly increase productivity.

ServiceNow is also helping NVIDIA streamline its IT operations with these generative AI tools, using NVIDIA data to customize NVIDIA NeMo foundation models running on hybrid-cloud infrastructure consisting of NVIDIA DGX Cloud and on-premises NVIDIA DGX SuperPOD AI supercomputers.

IT is the nervous system of every modern enterprise in every industry, said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. Our collaboration to build super-specialized generative AI for enterprises will boost the capability and productivity of IT professionals worldwide using the ServiceNow platform.

As adoption of generative AI continues to accelerate, organizations are turning to trusted vendors with battle-tested, secure AI capabilities to boost productivity, gain a competitive edge, and keep data and IP secure, said CJ Desai, president and chief operating officer of ServiceNow. Together, NVIDIA and ServiceNow will help drive new levels of automation to fuel productivity and maximize business impact."

Harnessing Generative AI to Reshape Digital BusinessServiceNow and NVIDIA are exploring a number of generative AI use cases to simplify and improve productivity across the enterprise by providing high accuracy and higher value in IT.

This includes developing intelligent virtual assistants and agents to help quickly resolve a broad range of user questions and support requests with purpose-built AI chatbots that use large language models and focus on defined IT tasks.

To simplify the user experience, enterprises can customize chatbots with proprietary data to create a central generative AI resource that stays on topic while resolving many different requests.

These generative AI use cases are also applicable to customer service agents, allowing for case prioritization with greater accuracy, saving time and improving outcomes. Customer service teams can use generative AI for automatic issue resolution, knowledge-base article generation based on customer case summaries, and chat summarization for faster hand-off, resolution and wrap-up.

In addition, generative AI can improve the employee experience by helping identify growth opportunities. For example, delivering customized learning and development recommendations, like courses and mentors, based on natural language queries and information from an employees profile.

Full-Stack NVIDIA Generative AI Software and Infrastructure Fuel Rapid DevelopmentIn its generative AI research and development, ServiceNow is using NVIDIA AI Foundations cloud services and the NVIDIA AI Enterprise software platform, which includes the NVIDIA NeMo framework.

Included in NeMo are prompt tuning, supervised fine-tuning and knowledge retrieval tools to help developers build, customize and deploy language models for enterprise use cases. NeMo Guardrails software is also included and enables developers to easily add topical, safety and security features for AI chatbots.

More here:

ServiceNow and NVIDIA Announce Partnership to Build Generative ... - NVIDIA Blog

By Sarah Taaffe-Maguire, Business reporter @taaffems

Friday 19 May 2023 04:17, UK

Employees are more fearful and distrustful of artificial intelligence in the workplace than their employers - as businesses see cost savings as the main benefit of the technology.

A UK-wide survey of attitudes and preparedness for AI, by recruitment giant Hays, found close to a third of employees say they don't have the right skills to make best use of the technology - but firms have already begun adopting it.

Some 56% of employers think AI should be embraced in the workplace, while just 8% said it should be feared.

Read more: AI to hit workplace 'like a freight train'

But among employees, just 49% believe artificial intelligence should be adopted - with 13% concerned about its impact.

Currently, 21% of organisations say they are already using AI tools like ChatGPT - and 27% are investing in training for staff to upskill in AI tools and technologies.

The main benefits of AI - identified by employers - were cost savings, process efficiencies and improved productivity.

At the same time, 55% of workers say their employer isn't helping them prepare for the use of AI at work.

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The survey indicates that more companies will adopt AI - and just 18% say they intend to ban it, with 3% already prohibiting its use.

The majority - 66% - say they will allow the technology in their workplace but will monitor how it is used.

The greatest take up of AI, according to the survey, was in marketing.

Over a third (37%) of marketing professionals say they have used an AI tool in their current role. They were followed by 30% of professionals working in tech, 23% of professionals working in architecture and 17% of those working in sales.

For businesses not using AI, the top reason listed was a lack of awareness or understanding of the benefits.

The survey results follow the announcement by BT that 55,000 jobs are to be cut before 2030 with AI replacing 10,000 roles.

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BT has revealed plans to significantly reduce the number of people working for the telecoms group as part of efforts to cut costs and bolster profitability, with AI due to replace thousands of roles. The company said it hoped the roles would be lost through natural attrition rather than redundancy.

The telecoms company added it would use AI to deliver better customer service and capture other business opportunities.

Unions have also expressed concern for workers' rights with the expansion of AI into the workplace and have called for tighter regulation.

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Artificial intelligence: Revealed - how many firms are already using AI... and how workers feel about it - Sky News

A police department in southern Wisconsin is warning residents about a new scam in which swindlers clone a relative's voice in an attempt to appear legitimate.

In a Facebook post on May 8, the Beloit Police Department said it received a report from a resident who provided money to someone who "sounded like their relative." While police aren't able to say for certain if the scam used artificial intelligence, they did say that "we want our community to be aware that this technology is out there."

AI scams have recently increased, so much so that the Senate Special Committee on Aging sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Friday, requesting information on the agency's efforts to protect older Americans from such scams, according to a news release.

These scams are easier to pull of that one might think - all scammers need is a short audio clip of your loved one's voice and a voice-cloning program.

Oftentimes scam victims may receive calls from people claiming to be relatives who have been kidnapped, landed in jail or have been involved in an accident and are in desperate need of money.

So, how do you know if it's actually your family member or a scammer who has cloned their voice?

First, call the person who supposedly contacted you and verify the story, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Make sure to use a phone number you know is theirs. If you cant reach your loved one, try to get in touch with them through another relative or friends.

Scammers often ask for victims towire money, sendcryptocurrency, orbuy gift cardsand give them the card numbers and PINs. So, if any of those requests are made, you might have gotten involved in a scam.

To help prevent AI scams, check privacy settings on social media accounts and double check which information you publicize on those accounts. The more information that is publicly available, the more scammers can use to convince someone they are legitimate.

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Wisconsin Police Department Warns of New Artificial Intelligence Phone Scam - NBC Chicago

NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - Shell Plc (SHEL.L) will use AI-based technology from big-data analytics firm SparkCognition in its deep sea exploration and production to boost offshore oil output, the companies said on Wednesday.

SparkCognition's AI algorithms will process and analyze large amounts of seismic data in the hunt for new oil reservoirs by Shell, the largest oil producer in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

"We are committed to finding new and innovative ways to reinvent our exploration ways of working," Gabriel Guerra, Shell's vice president of innovation and performance, said in a statement.

The goal is to improve operational efficiency and speed, and increase production and success in exploration. The new process can shorten explorations to less than nine days from nine months, the companies said.

"Generative AI for seismic imaging can positively disrupt the exploration process and has broad and far-reaching implications," said Bruce Porter, chief science officer for Austin, Texas-based SparkCognition.

The technology would generate subsurface images using fewer seismic data scans than usual, helping with deep sea preservation, the companies said. Seismic technology sends sound waves to explore subsurface areas.

Fewer seismic surveys accelerate exploration workflow and would save costs in high-performance computing, they added.

Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; Editing by Richard Chang

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Thomson Reuters

A New-York-based correspondent covering the U.S. crude market and member of the energy team since 2018 covering the oil and fuel markets as well as federal policy around renewable fuels.Contact: 646-737-4649

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Shell to use new AI technology in deep sea oil exploration - Reuters