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submitted 1 year ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

Running AI is so expensive that Amazon will probably charge you to use Alexa in future, says outgoing exec::In an interview with Bloomberg, Dave Limp said that he "absolutely" believes that Amazon will soon start charging a subscription fee for Alexa

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[-] Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 41 points 1 year ago

Alexa was designed explicitly for that purpose. They lose money on every Echo sold, the whole idea was they would make money selling you stuff. Turns out people would rather use their Echo to check the weather, get recipes, etc. rather than voice shop.

[-] hightrix@lemmy.world 36 points 1 year ago

I just can’t see a use case for voice shopping. There are almost zero instances where I want to buy something without having a visual of that thing in front of me at time of purchase.

I could possibly see something like “buy another stick of deodorant”, but even then I want to see if there are deals or some other options and would want to check the price at a minimum.

Seems like yet another MBA idea.

[-] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 year ago

Yeah it seems the execs who had the idea for Alexa never used Amazon for shopping. It's a shit shopping site full of scammy products. I'd never buy anything from them without checking out the prices reviews, etc.

[-] OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip 3 points 1 year ago

It's really only good for re-ordering things you've already ordered. It will let you know that it found something in your order history and then you can decide whether you want to order again.

[-] hightrix@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

And this makes sense, but I’d still want to check prices to make sure that my $3 deodorant didn’t get discontinued and priced at $30/stick.

[-] GamingChairModel@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Well you think this way because you've seen what happened to Amazon in the past 10 years. 10 years ago, when they were getting ready to launch the Echo, Amazon was a great retailer that people trusted. Now a decade of sellers gaming listings and reviews, and Amazon customer service deteriorating, we've been trained not to trust Amazon's defaults.

[-] Cort@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

Ha, I use mine almost exclusively as a light switch. I don't have to get out of bed to turn off my lights or turn on my fan. I'm sure they're losing a bunch of money on me

[-] maniclucky@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

It's a great lightswitch. Also, thermostat adjustor (my husband is very particular and changes it about a dozen times a day).

[-] LittleTrollInAHut@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

And they also have smart lights and phone apps that do the same thing.

[-] kelargo@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

I use mine to stream spotify.

[-] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

It's also good for setting a timer. But yeah, I'm not buying shit from it.

this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2023
560 points (96.2% liked)

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