IT Home October 16 news: Amazon is optimistic about ambient computing, believing that the future of personal AI lies not in applications but in smart devices capable of proactively understanding users' needs.
On the 15th local time, Amazon's Bee released a new AI wearable device. The same day, Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Amazon's Devices, Alexa and Leo business, further elaborated his view on the future of personal computing at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference.
Panay used the smartphone as an example to talk about how people interact with devices: "A lot of the time, we first have to figure out what we want the tool to do for us. The whole processis like clicking, operating, going back. I believe the future world will begin with ambient-aware devices."
Note from IT Home: "Ambient-aware devices" refers to devices that can run in the background, using sensors and AI to proactively determine users' needs, without having to wait for the user to give a command every time.
Panay further explained: "When devices run in the background, you can focus more on what's in front of you, get more work done, and spend more time with people... and you don't have to worry about missing anything. This capability is very powerful."
Panay believes that privacy protection is an issue that must be considered when designing ambient-aware devices: "Users must be given control. Every product is different, but taking Bee as an example, privacy protection must be factored in when developing ambient-aware devices. That is what we did. This is very important."
Before joining Amazon, Panay worked at Microsoft for 19 years, responsible for the development of the Surface series of devices. He has long followed the direction of personal computing and believes that as AI takes on more and more tasks, ambient computing devices like Bee may allow usersto gradually reduce their reliance on applications. "Do I think a new balance will emerge in the future, so that an entire generationno longer thinks 'give me an app that can do this'but instead hopesthe device directly understands their needs? Yes, I believe it will. I think this shift is about to happen, and this is the direction of the next generation."
However, Panay does not believe the smartphone will lose its status as an important personal computing device because of this. He predicts that more new devices using sensors to understand users' needs will appear in the future, making the environment around people smarter. "I don't think one device form factor will replace another, and I don't agree with that view. I think there will bean intelligence layer connecting all devices... and it must be genuinely useful."