what it takes to make Alexa

• broader terms (BT):
• narrower terms (NT):
• related terms (RT):
• used for (UF) or aliases:
  connected ideas: Claude Chappe Signalling Device MOC:
  Reference: @crawfordAnatomyAI source

The amount of resources needed to fuel an AI is nothing like anything weve seen before with the internet. —

Source¶

With each interaction, Alexa is training to hear better, to interpret more precisely, to trigger actions that map to the user’s commands more accurately, and to build a more complete model of their preferences, habits and desires. What is required to make this possible? Put simply: each small moment of convenience – be it answering a question, turning on a light, or playing a song – requires a vast planetary network, fueled by the extraction of non-renewable materials, labor, and data. The scale of resources required is many magnitudes greater than the energy and labor it would take a human to operate a household appliance or flick a switch. A full accounting for these costs is almost impossible, but it is increasingly important that we grasp the scale and scope if we are to understand and govern the technical infrastructures that thread through our lives.¹