Speculation: In-Book AI

Speculation: In-Book AI

Amazon, like many companies, is investing a lot of money and effort on AI (Artificial Intelligence). Right now, Alexa (along with Siri, Bixby, & others), is considerably behind ChatGPT in conversational ability. I pay $20 a month to have the latest version of ChatGPT, & I’m amazed by the vocal version’s skill in chatting out loud with me. It’s quite different from the written version: it will do “call backs” to earlier things we discussed, and it asks prompting questions.

Much of what I’ve done in my life has involved talking to people. I was an actor for years & a trainer for more. I have a good understanding of what works well in communicating with people; so does ChatGPT.

Alexa is getting a major upgrade…I think some people have it now, and everyone with compatible devices will have it (at least in the USA: I’m not sure about global implementation) soon, probably in the next few months.

No question, Amazon’s Alexa is a major part of their consumer division, and getting people even more invested in their devices is profitable for them.

However, I started this blog (a long time ago) because of my interest in books (I’m an inveterate reader & a former brick-and-mortar bookstore manager) as well as in technology.

I was thinking: what if Amazon’s AI was available while I was reading a book? If it was aware of what I was reading, how would I use it and how would that be useful to me?

First, let’s imagine how it would work. One way would be for it to be aware of where I was in the book. Many people wouldn’t like that, of course, but a Kindle reader or app always knows where you are in the book already. When you open your device or app, it opens to where you were last, right, not at the beginning of the book?

A question, though, could certainly be more specific than that. I would think either it could respond just based on what “page” you had reached (reducing friction in asking the question), or you could highlight the section in quesiton with your finger.

By the way, I think eventually, Alexa will be able to do these sorts of things with p-books (paper/physical books). Cameras in your house would be looking over your shoulder as you sat with your book & would be able to see where you were in the book.

Once you’ve indicated your location, you have to talk to the AI. I don’t think that’s going to work well directly on a Kindle EBR (E-Book Reader), at least with anything like the current tech being used. It would work on a Fire tablet (it could hear you & speak back), or hypothetically, if you had the wi-fi on for your EBR, it could communicate your place to your Alexa devices, so you could ask them. Typing or handwriting could be an option (so it wasn’t heard by other people in the house), but I think vocal would be the most popular.

I’d also like a “Spoiler Level” setting, which could be adjusted on the fly. I would set mine by default not to reveal anything happening later in the book (or in later books in the series). Other people might not mind that. I’m writing this at this point as it would apply to fiction, although this would also be very useful with non-fiction.

Now, some specific types of questions:

• “Is that the person who brought the package earlier?” Lots of times, something might happen in a book that depends on knowledge of something that has already happened in that book. People don’t always remember, and I find authors sometimes make assumptions about what you think about a character. I’m unusual in that I don’t visualize when I read, or, for that mattter, “hear” the voices of the characters. I’ve had situations where they assume that I pictured a character as looking a particular way, for example, having a certain hair color. That character recurs and they describe them by the hair color (not by the name)…which they hadn’t done before! Most people seem to get it, but I may not. The callback can also be to previous books in the series
• “Why does it matter that they lived in England?” There are cases where the author also assumes that you know something cultural. Someone from England might be reluctant to drive in the USA, since you drive on the other side of the road (that was a challenge for me when I went to Australia!). The AI could explain that
• “Did they actually have seatbelts in the 1950s?” Authors may have to really ramp up their research! When AIs can fact check every little thing, including anachronisms, that may be different! Of course, authors could also use AI to check their work before publishing it
• “Do those two ever get together?” For people who don’t mind spoilers, they might wonder about things like that. My favorite thing in entertainment is to be surprised (it doesn’t happen all that often), so I wouldn’t ask that, but you might
• “Wouldn’t there be an easier way to get through that door?” AI is going to be great at “what if”s! If can feel like you’re talking to a friend about it. “What do you think would have happened if they didn’t go back for the supplies?” While this was with a less sophisticated version, here’s a discussion I had with ChatGPT about what would have happened if Dorothy’s house had fallen on Glinda instead of the Wicked Witch: Wizard of Oz What If

Those are some ideas for what could happen during the book. For Amazon, what happened when you were finished would be equally important! It could ask you what you thought about the book, and if there were any parts you particularly liked. Based on that , it could recommend other similar books…or queue up the movie or TV series. Maybe you want a tie-in t-shirt or jigsaw puzzle? No problem! Replica sword? Sure! Want to be alerted when the next book in the series comes out? You got it!

Those are a few thoughts, but it could get a lot wilder. It could help you write fanfic (fan fiction). It could draw you a picture of you in the world of the book (within intellectual property limits, I would assume).

How do you think it could help you? What about that nonfiction? You can let me and my readers know by commenting here, or I’m more likely to see it right away & respond if you reach out to me here:

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Bufo’s Alexa Skills

This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog. To support this or other organizations, begin your Amazon shopping from a link on their sites: Amazon.com 

Alexa is leveling up this year!

Since Amazon introduced Alexa on 6 November 2014, there have certainly been changes!

This year, however, feels different…a revolutionary change.

Watching this year’s new services and devices announcement, you can tell. Alexa is going to feel much more like you are having a conversation with Rosie from the Jetsons or J.A.R.V.I.S. from Iron Man…or really, ChatGPT.

As someone who has used Alexa since the beginning and has written extensively on ChatGPT, the difference has been stark between the two. Try out any Alexa functions, even the experimental ones, and it’s nowhere near the conversational sophistication of ChatGPT (and other “generative AIs”, artificial intelligences). I, well, chat with ChatGPT often, and it can feel very human. For example, I recently accidentally typed acronym when I meant anagram, and it had no problem understanding what I meant. Try being that wrong with the current Alexa and see what happens!

ChatGPT uses inference and what I call “artificial empathy”. You could say it appears to have a “theory of mind”, thinking about what you are thinking about. I’m a former actor, and one of the ones that impressed me the most was when I asked it to add emotional tags to a script: to tell me how the characters were feeling on each line. Every one of them was a legitimate choice, and I would have agreed with almost all of them. These were also pretty sophisticated, including “teasing”!

That said, Alexa is about to make ChatGPT feel old-fashioned for many people.

Why?

Let’s break down the elements that give value to “effective intelligence”:

1. What can it sense?
2. What can it understand about what it has sensed?
3. What can it do with that understanding?

Alexa already is way beyond the general use of ChatGPT on #1. When I want to chat with ChatGPT, I generally go to a website on my phone or laptop, and type to it. It’s a destination: I have to travel there. While there are some ways to get it to sense spoken conversation, they are workarounds.

Alexa is what Amazon calls “ambient computing”. I have devices in my house & car where I can just verbally ask a question (after using a “wake word”) & get an answer. That’s a lot easier!

Alexa has “ears”.

Amazon also presented some very interesting ideas about another sense many (but not all) Alexa/Echo devices have: sight.

Alexa has “eyes”.

I know that makes a lot of people nervous, that Alexa can see you. For it to do some processing on that, it needs to in some way “hold” an image of you, even if it is only temporarily. There is a “Visual ID” function, where it will be able to visually recognize individuals in your house. I looked into that one: you apparently have to set it up on each device, suggesting the information is stored locally (I just haven’t researched that thoroughly). There could be advantages to that: I use Celsius, my Significant Other uses Fahrenheit. It would be nice if it could tellI was looking at it when I asked for the weather.

That may have been the most intriguing thing they showed us!

The Amazon representatives have been studying what makes good conversations.

Humans very often use visual cues to indicate who is being asked a question…we may look at them, nod our heads, or maybe point a finger.

Apparently, Alexa is going to be able to tell that we are doing that! I’ll admit that I don’t always look at Alexa when asking it a question (but I often do). It should know if I’m looking at my Significant Other asking a question, though, that it doesn’t need to answer it.

Game changer!

Alexa also has some kind of proximity sensor. On the new Echo Show, the display can change based on how close you are. Far away, a simple display with big numbers and letters. Close up, more detail.

It also has touch, at least on those with a touch screen.

Eventually, I suppose it will have taste and the ability to smell…it can already connected to devices that can do the latter.

Alexa definitely wins on the “what it can sense” element.

As to what it can understand, that’s where ChatGPT has been vastly superior. That’s what is supposedly about to change. Alexa will get an LLM (Large Language Model). It should start understanding speech better, and more natural, even slangy speech. It will respond more naturally (I expect it may mirror the way you speak, or there may be choices for that). It will make inferences, and it was explicitly stated that it will have opinions.

We’ll see, but for now, let’s act as though Alexa is going to be as good as ChatGPT at understanding after the upgrade rolls out. Oh, that’s important! They were clear that existing Alexa/Echo devices will be getting this new ability! You won’t need to buy a new one (although new ones may have other advantages and possibly do all this more quickly).

Now for #3: what can it do with it?

That’s where it’s Alexa hands-down! We already use our Alexa-enabled devices for lots of things, including turning lights on and off, weather, air quality, listening to TuneIn…the list goes on and on. Amazon also indicated there will be additional partnerships enabling even more.

All of this will make it easier to use. If you say, “It’s like a sauna in here,” Alexa should know that means to turn down the heat. The opinions and inferences should let you say something like, “I love The Wizard of Oz…any recent movies like that?” and have it give you appropriate options.

That’s all good.

Another thing I think we’ll see is the rise, perhaps through Alexa Skills, of companionship and discussion. You could have a “friend”. Alexa can remember things about you, and that would help. If you keep your calendar with Alexa, it might say, “How’d the date with Pat go?” You could say, “Well, you know Pat.” Alexa might respond, with a humorous tone, “Late again?” You could also get advice of various kinds.

They mentioned Character.AI. If it has the capabilties of the website, that means you could have a conversation with a simulated Albert Einstein or Mr. Spock (but I’m not sure how licensing might affect the latter).

I can imagine a lot of ways it could be helpful creatively! Plot advice, for one.

I do think it would benefit greatly from an easy way for it to send you text. If you ask it to write a particular story, for example, or find you movies about rabbits, it would be great if you can get that list on your computer.

As it rolls out, it will be at the beginning of these capabilities…what Amazon calls “Day One”. I think this will improve very rapidly, significantly over the course of the next couple of years.

All of that is software. 🙂

They, of course, also introduced new hardware…both new models of existing products, and the Fire TV Soundbar, among other things. Rather than go into details in this post, here’s the site:

New Amazon Devices and Features

I suspect that long-time Alexa users may be initially less impressed. It should still work the way it did, and most veteran users won’t change right away. Some will! I’m certified in performance improvement and it always amuses me when people recommend you identify your high performers and then have the lower performers do it the same way. If you go back to those high performers (with technology) in a month, they’ll be doing it differently. They like change and aren’t satisfied. Most people just want it to work; they don’t routinely look for new ways. I’ll be interested to see how Amazon (and Alexa) try to move people to use the new features.

Newer users, including children, may just start out addressing Alexa as they would a human being…if it really does approximate that, it seem natural to them.

Eventually, I’m guessing there will be some killer apps…er, skills, that many people use. It might be…travel. It could be something with sports (note that they said Alexa will be up to date, and advantage over Chat GPT). What if Alexa is good at predicting the next play? Could it try to pick winners? Would that be allowed? We’ll see!

Feel free to let me know what you think, either by commenting on this post or interacting with me on X (formerly Twitter):

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This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.

Amazon Announces New AI-Powered “Sensitivity Setting” for Kindle: Making Reading a Safe and Comfortable Experience for All

Amazon Announces New AI-Powered “Sensitivity Setting” for Kindle: Making Reading a Safe and Comfortable Experience for All

April 1st, 2023 (AFD News)

Amazon has unveiled its latest Kindle innovation, set to launch in the coming months: an AI-powered “Sensitivity Setting” designed to offer readers a more personalized and comfortable experience. This groundbreaking feature allows users to select from a list of sensitive topics, such as sexist language, violence, or even arachnophobia, and the Kindle will automatically adjust the text of a book to remove these elements, replacing them with inoffensive language.

The Sensitivity Setting uses advanced algorithms developed by Amazon’s research team, which have been fed thousands of hours of data in order to detect and replace potentially triggering content. The company claims that the software is so sophisticated that it can even identify subtle nuances in language that may be problematic.

In a statement, an Amazon spokesperson said, “We believe that everyone should be able to enjoy reading, no matter their personal sensitivities or preferences. The Sensitivity Setting is our way of making sure that the reading experience is as inclusive and accessible as possible.”

The technology has already been tested on a variety of classic and contemporary novels with impressive results. For example, readers who are afraid of spiders can now experience “Charlotte’s Web” without fear, as the AI has been programmed to replace any mention of spiders with the less intimidating term “Charlottey Bugs.”

Similarly, those who prefer a more pacifist approach to reading can opt to have all scenes of violence in books such as “Game of Thrones” replaced with peaceful alternatives. The AI will rewrite these scenes to feature characters engaged in non-violent activities, such as gardening or knitting, instead of bloodshed and battle. This way, readers can still enjoy their favorite books without the fear of encountering distressing content.

Amazon has also involved specially selected Beta readers in the development process, allowing them to request increasingly specific customizations. In response, Amazon has added a “Custom Sensitivity” option that lets readers create their own list of words or phrases they’d like to avoid. This feature has led to some truly unique reading experiences, such as a version of “Moby-Dick” where all references to the whale are replaced with “Fluffy Unicorn,” making for a more lighthearted maritime adventure.

The company has introduced a “Reality Adjustment” feature as well, which allows users to alter historical events within non-fiction books to better align with their personal beliefs. For example, a reader who subscribes to the Flat Earth theory can now enjoy geography books that adhere to their worldview.

However, critics have raised concerns that the Sensitivity Setting might be taken to absurd extremes. One anonymous source shared an example of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” in which all romantic interactions were replaced with competitive games of tic-tac-toe. Amazon responded to these concerns by emphasizing that the feature is entirely optional and customizable, allowing users to decide how much they want their reading experience to be altered.

Amazon’s new Sensitivity Setting is set to become available in the coming months. So whether you prefer your literature with a side of spider-free whimsy, or you’ve always wished for a less intense version of “War and Peace,” the Kindle’s upcoming update promises a reading experience tailored just for you.

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APRIL FOOL! This article was a joke.

I’ve been doing a lot with text-generating artificial intelligence in one of my other blogs, The Measured Circle:

https://measuredcircle.wordpress.com/category/pop-culture/tech/chatgpt/

It’s appropriate to address here too, of course. I’ve said that the introduction of ChatGPT is like the introduction of the Model T by Ford: cars had existed before that, but it democratized them and led to cities being built around their use. ChatGPT does a similar thing.

I do think society will change. One area where there is the most passionate discussion, though, is in publishing.

Text-generating AI will compete with human authors, and already is doing so. There are books you can buy at Amazon now written by AI.

Of course, that does predate ChatGPT, as I mentioned with cars and the Model T. I loved

The Policeman’s Beard Is Half-Constructed

a book “written by” a computer in 1984. The absurdity of what it wrote was part of the fun.

Are you going to be reading things written by AI? Yes, it’s very likely you already have. I mentioned books, but it’s also used for articles and even basic correspondence.

Oh, and if you’ve read this post this far, you did. That April Fools’ piece above?

Written by ChatGPT-4.

I basically served the role of an editor at a humor magazine talking to a house writer. I gave it assignment. It gave a draft (in seconds, by the way). I then gave it some notes. It revised based on my notes.

That’s a good way to use it right now. A collaboration can work well. A human writing entirely alone is great and may be likely to still produce the best result. However, it’s much faster (which isn’t the only goal of writing!) if the AI writes it and the human makes it better. I’ve suggested that as a moneymaking opportunity for writers: “AI Polisher”. They’d improve the writing of an AI, both by, well, polishing the lines and by fact-checking.

Let me show you what happened in this case. First, here’s my prompt:

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Hi! Please write an April Fool’s Day article for me, maybe 500 words. The premise is that Amazon is working on a Kindle with an AI-powered “Sensitivity Setting”. It lets customers choose certain sensitive topics, such as sexist language, or violence, and it will automatically change the text of a book to remove those elements, replacing it with inoffensive language.

Start out with it seeming real, and then get increasingly silly. Use goofy examples like, “For people who are afraid of spiders, it will change the word to ‘Charlottey Bugs'” (I’m referencing Charlotte’s Web). By the end of it, it should be obvious to almost everyone that the article is a joke.

Any questions?

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Its first draft started like this:

“Amazon has unveiled its latest Kindle innovation, just in time for April Fool’s Day…”

Well, that’s going to get people thinking about April Fool’s Day right away! So, these were my notes:

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Impressive! There were some really good things in there…love the Pride and Prejudice piece and “fluffy unicorn”!

The only thing is that you don’t want to mention April Fool’s Day in the beginning, because that will make people realize the article is probably a joke. Let’s change that to “in the coming months”…that’s also more typical Amazon speak.

Also, since this is supposedly the first announcement, let’s not use “gained more attention”. Adjust that to be specially selected Beta readers.

Please don’t change anything else…I liked it a lot! Please generate a new one with these changes. Thanks!

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You may notice that I talk to it like I would do a human. I find that works best: I recommend that people be polite. Sure, I’ve heard about AIs saying rude things, but from what I’ve seen, that’s after the human really tried hard to provoke it, generally. It senses your mood and mirrors it…similar to what non-sociopathic humans tend to do. 😉

There are certainly also a lot of concerns about AI. One thing that interests me is people essentially accusing it of “stealing” humans’ writing. It doesn’t copy and paste: it’s read a lot of stuff and then it writes something new.

That’s not wholly different from what human writers often do. Lots of fantasy fiction is clearly influenced by The Lord of the Rings, even using “orcs”. There was a ton of vampire fiction after the success of Interview with the Vampire and later, Twilight. We don’t ask humans to write something that is completely original and uninfluenced every time. That’s basically what ChatGPT is doing.

When it’s used what seems like distinctively unique language, I have tried searching for the phrase…without success.

At this point, it’s looking like AI is not getting copyrights, at least in the USA. The Copyright Office wants to limit copyrights to humans. That changes the competitive field.

If you’re a writer, is your livelihood threatened by AI? I’d say yes, in some types of writing. For example, technical writing: I had someone give me a description of their car. I’m not a big car person, so I asked ChatGPT to rewrite it in “plain English”. It did a great job! It didn’t just tell me what the words meant, it gave me how that would affect the car. Here’s an except:

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1. “4.4 L 32v DOHC” – This describes the engine. It’s a 4.4-liter engine with 32 valves and a Double Overhead Camshaft (DOHC) design. This is a powerful engine that typically provides a high level of performance.
2. “454 hp” – This is the car’s horsepower, which measures the engine’s power output. With 454 horsepower, this car is quite powerful and can accelerate quickly.

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It gets what would likely matter to me.

We’ve had quite a few “what if” discussions, including what would have happened if Dorothy’s house had fallen on Glinda instead of the Wicked Witch. That’s useful and fun!

Now, I need to be clear: it’s imperfect. It’s good for research for writers, but it gets things wrong sometimes. You need to double-check, but it can get you looking in the right places. I should mention that I made the somewhat difficult decision to pay $20 a month for the latest version. It does seem more reliable, but it’s still not always right.

I’m sure some of you have passionate opinions about this…some negative, some positive. Feel free to share them with me and my readers! You can do that by commenting on this post, or, and this is probably better, reach out to me on Twitter:

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Bufo’s Alexa Skills

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This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.