I’ve been reflecting on Amazon’s approach to AI, and it’s baffling. While OpenAI and Microsoft have taken the industry by storm with ChatGPT, Amazon seems to be missing in action. They’re not developing their own chat generative AI solution but instead are focusing on being the foundation infrastructure for companies like Anthropic. This makes some sense, but they also have their own foundation models, like Titan, that could power an impressive chatbot.

The most perplexing part is Amazon’s massive market penetration with Alexa devices. Alexa is arguably the dumbest AI tool out there right now. It’s limited to very specific commands like “play music” or “what’s the weather.” Integrating a generative AI model like Titan could revolutionize Alexa, making it a powerful assistant capable of handling a wide range of tasks, like adding events to calendars and managing daily activities.

Amazon has the infrastructure and the market reach—Alexa is in cars, homes, and on mobile devices. Yet, they haven’t made the leap to enhance Alexa with advanced AI. It’s a huge missed opportunity. With the right AI integration, Alexa could be so much more than a glorified voice-activated remote. It could become an indispensable part of our daily lives.

So why hasn’t Amazon taken this step? What’s the logic behind holding back on such a promising advancement? It’s a question worth pondering as we watch other tech giants push the boundaries of AI.