**Amazon’s Bee: The Game-Changing AI Wearable You Might Not Be Aware Of**
CES 2023 just wrapped up in Las Vegas and, honestly, my brain is still reeling from all the excitement. Amidst the flurry of AI-powered gadgets, one thing caught my attention: Amazon’s acquisition of Bee, a wearable AI device that’s either a pin or a bracelet.
So, what is Bee? In a nutshell, it’s a tool for recording conversations, like interviews, meetings, or classes. Yeah, that’s not unique, but here’s the twist – it’s also an AI companion that can learn from your interactions and provide you with valuable insights. The AI can access world data and learn from a combination of your recordings, as well as services you allow, like Gmail, Google Calendar, your phone’s contacts, and Apple Health.
At first glance, you might think Amazon is just adding another AI companion to its Alexa family. But nope! According to Maria de Lourdes Zollo, co-founder of Bee, the company sees Bee as a complementary friend that can learn from you outside the home, while Alexa rules the roost inside. “Bee has the understanding of outside the home, and Alexa has the understanding of inside the home,” she said. And get this – the future promises to bring these two AIs together!
Amazon’s VP of Alexa, Daniel Rausch, chimed in, saying, “We know it will create even more value for customers than what [the AI experiences] do on their own.” The idea is that with access to these two AI companions throughout the day, customers can enjoy even more benefits and capabilities.
So, what can Bee do now? For starters, it can learn from you, picking up on your patterns, insights, and commitments. This helps it suggest to-do items and follow-ups throughout the day. Early users have included students recording lectures, elderly folks who need help remembering things, and professionals who prefer not to take notes manually.
Bee’s AI uses a range of AI models, but it’s also experimenting with integrating Amazon’s AI. However, it discards the audio after transcription, which isn’t super practical for work-related use cases where replaying the conversation is crucial for accuracy.
Looking ahead, Bee’s eight-person team in San Francisco is cooking up new features and functionalities, including voice notes, templates, and daily insights. As the co-founder put it, “Actually, it’s endless possibilities now, and that’s one of the reasons why we’re really excited to be part of Amazon.”
Will Bee revolutionize the world of AI wearables? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure – Amazon is betting big on this new wearable AI device.
