Amazon aims for AI dominance with new chatbot 'Metis'
Amazon, the online retail giant, is making strides in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) with a new project named "Metis." This AI chatbot is being developed to rival OpenAI's ChatGPT, as reported by Business Insider. Metis will be accessible via a web browser and powered by Amazon's internal AI model, Olympus, which is reportedly more powerful than its publicly available counterpart, Titan.
Metis: A new generation AI chatbot
Metis is designed to generate conversational text and image-based responses, provide source links for its answers, suggest follow-up questions, and even create images. Amazon plans to use a method known as retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) for Metis. This approach will allow the chatbot to reference information beyond its original training data, providing more current responses. Additionally, Metis is intended to function as an AI agent capable of completing tasks such as turning on lights or booking flights.
Amazon CEO's optimism for generative AI
In his annual letter to shareholders in April, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy expressed his optimism about the potential of generative AI. He wrote, "Generative AI may be the largest technology transformation since the cloud (which itself, is still in the early stages), and perhaps since the Internet." Jassy believes much of this transformation will be built on top of Amazon Web Services, indicating a promising future for Metis.
Challenges in Amazon's AI development
Despite ambitious plans, reports suggest that Amazon's AI-backed version of its virtual assistant Alexa, is not close to being ready. Unnamed former employees have claimed that Amazon lacks the necessary data and access to the chips required, to run the large language model (LLM) that powers the new Alexa. However, Amazon has refuted these claims, stating that these former employees are uninformed about its current Alexa AI efforts.
Leadership and launch plans for Metis
The development of Metis is being spearheaded by Amazon's AGI team, under the guidance of senior vice president and chief scientist Rohit Prasad, with CEO Jassy also directly involved. Reports suggest that Amazon may launch Metis this September at the Alexa event, marking a significant step forward in the company's AI endeavors.
