The Seattle Times reports that Amazon's Alexa-powered voice computing technology turns five years old this year.
The story points out that "the voice-computing technology that can now control more than 85,000 different devices debuted Nov. 6, 2014. Some 10,000 people work at Amazon on various parts of the system of technologies, which is used by 'tens of millions' of customers each month, according to a company blog post marking its birthday."
It also is reported that "more than 50 humans named Alexa currently work at Amazon, according to LinkedIn."
But, while there are more than four thousand Alexas who also are turning five years old this year, Alexa as a baby name is actually declining in popularity.
The Times notes that "other female-identified digital assistants have much less common names - Siri and Cortana. (Twenty babies were named Siri in the US last year, and five were named Cortana.)
The story points out that "the voice-computing technology that can now control more than 85,000 different devices debuted Nov. 6, 2014. Some 10,000 people work at Amazon on various parts of the system of technologies, which is used by 'tens of millions' of customers each month, according to a company blog post marking its birthday."
It also is reported that "more than 50 humans named Alexa currently work at Amazon, according to LinkedIn."
But, while there are more than four thousand Alexas who also are turning five years old this year, Alexa as a baby name is actually declining in popularity.
The Times notes that "other female-identified digital assistants have much less common names - Siri and Cortana. (Twenty babies were named Siri in the US last year, and five were named Cortana.)
- KC's View:
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I think there are several things you can count on. One is that Amazon is working on having a version of "Alexa" that will have a male name and voice. But I also think we'll end up seeing as customizable physical manifestation of the male and female versions that can be seen on a computer screen, and eventually turned into a customizable hologram, like the Doctor in "Star Trek: Voyager." Just wait.
