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When Amazon.com Inc. executives took the stage last month in New York to announce an artificially intelligent Alexa, there was a conspicuous absence: no flashy new gadget to accompany the souped-up voice assistant.

Amazon isn’t unusual in this regard. After a years-long explosion of high-end laptops, foldable smart phones and voice-activated everything, big tech companies have entered the artificial intelligence age with little new hardware. 

If the gadget development scene isn’t entirely dead, “it’s napping,” said Liam Pingree, an engineer with a doctorate in materials science who led teams at Amazon, Microsoft Corp. and Boeing Co. 

Pingree and other hardware veterans decry a lack of risk-taking in hardware as tech companies pour billions of dollars into massive bets on artificial intelligence software. The industry is banking on a future where AI tools create novel sources of revenue, and, if history is any guide, new products can fuel customer adoption. Smartphones created an app ecosystem, and the personal computer helped popularize the internet.