What to expect at Amazon's February event: Alexa 2.0, new Echos, and Fire TV upgrades - Related to february, macos, this, fire, expect

Sam Altman Hints at More Open-Source AI as OpenAI Moves Toward AGI

OpenAI is exploring the open-sourcing of AI as it moves toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), CEO Sam Altman stated in a recent blog post.

“AI will seep into all areas of the economy and society; we will expect everything to be smart. ” Altman wrote. “Many of us expect to need to give people more control over the technology than we have historically, including open-sourcing more.”.

Altman outlined three key economic trends in AI—intelligence scaling predictably with resource investment, a rapid decline in AI costs, and super-exponential socioeconomic value from increasing intelligence.

He noted that AI token costs have fallen 150 times between early 2023 and mid-2024, a pace exceeding Moore’s Law. “The cost to use a given level of AI falls about 10x every 12 months, and lower prices lead to much more use,” he expressed.

He warned that while AGI’s benefits could be widely distributed, its impact will be uneven across industries. Some sectors may remain largely unchanged, while scientific progress is expected to accelerate significantly.

“The balance of power between capital and labour could easily get messed up,” Altman mentioned, suggesting that intervention might be necessary. “OpenAI is considering strange-sounding ideas such as providing a compute budget to enable global AI access.”.

AI agents, which Altman described as virtual co-workers, are being rolled out. He projected that software engineering agents could eventually handle tasks similar to junior developers at top firms, though requiring supervision. He also speculated on the impact of deploying such agents at scale across multiple industries.

Altman acknowledged risks in AGI deployment and noted that public policy will play a crucial role in shaping its integration. He cautioned against authoritarian control of AI and stressed that individual empowerment should be prioritised.

OpenAI continues to launch products “early and often” to allow society and technology to co-evolve, Altman wrote. He emphasised the long-term goal of making AGI a tool that enhances human capability, stating that by 2035, “anyone should be able to marshal the intellectual capacity equivalent to everyone in 2025.”.

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This app makes using Ollama local AI on MacOS devices so easy

I've turned to locally installed AI for research because I don't want third parties using my information to either build a profile or train their local language models (LLMs).

My local AI of choice is the open-source Ollama. I not long ago wrote a piece on how to make using this local LLM easier with the help of a browser extension, which I use on Linux. But on MacOS, I turn to an easy-to-use, free app called Msty.

Also: How to turn Ollama from a terminal tool into a browser-based AI with this free extension.

Msty allows you to use locally installed and online AI models. However, I default to the locally installed option. And, unlike the other options for Ollama, there's no container to deploy, no terminal to use, and no need to open another browser tab.

Msty capabilities things like split chats (so you can run more than one query at a time), regenerate model response, clone chats, add multiple models, real-time data summoning (which only works with certain models), create Knowledge Stacks (where you can add files, folders, Obsidian vaults, notes, and more to be used to train your local model), a prompt library, and more.

Msty is one of the best tools for interacting with Ollama. Here's how to use it.

What you'll need: The only things you'll need for this are a MacOS device, and Ollama installed and running. If you haven't installed Ollama, do that first (here's how). You'll also need to pull down one of the local models (which is demonstrated in the article above).

Also: I tried Sanctum's local AI app, and it's exactly what I needed to keep my data private.

At this point, you can type your first query and wait for the response.

One of the cool functions of Msty is that it allows you to change the model instructions.

For example, you might want to use the local LLM as an AI-assisted doctor, for writing, accounting, as an alien anthropologist, or as an artistic advisor.

Also: The best AI for coding in 2025 (and what not to use).

There are many other things Msty can do, but this guide will get you up and running quickly. I would suggest starting with the basics and, as you get used to the app, venture into more complicated processes.

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Amazon has been focused on bringing generative AI to Alexa for the past few years, hitting multiple delays in launching new capabilities......

What to expect at Amazon's February event: Alexa 2.0, new Echos, and Fire TV upgrades

Amazon has been focused on bringing generative AI to Alexa for the past few years, hitting multiple delays in launching new elements that the enterprise first showcased in September 2023. The deferred Alexa [website] seems poised for a 2025 release, as evidenced by the surprise Devices and Services event Amazon is hosting at the end of the month.

Amid rumors of Alexa [website] shortcomings, Amazon skipped its 2024 Devices and Services event, where the corporation typically announces new Alexa functions and hardware devices. Now, the corporation plans to host an Amazon Alexa-themed event, where it is expected to unveil the voice assistant's generative AI functions and finally put an ETA on its launch.

Also: 5 ways AI can help with your taxes - and 10 major mistakes to avoid.

The event, which will take place on Feb. 26 in New York City, will be Panos Panay's first since joining the Devices and Services division after his Microsoft exit. But aside from new Alexa elements, Amazon could be preparing to launch other devices.

What to expect from Amazon's February 2025 event.

This is expected to be the main event during the Devices and Services announcements at the end of February. During the last Devices and Services event, Amazon executive Dave Limp revealed a gen AI-powered Alexa coming to an Echo device near you.

Also: This app makes using Ollama local AI on MacOS devices so easy.

This Alexa [website] featured a more natural cadence in its replies, could handle multiple prompts in a session, and would generate content instead of providing a canned answer to questions. It would also feature greater customization power to remember user preferences (perhaps like ChatGPT's Memory) for more productive user interactions.

But Amazon mentioned little about the new Alexa after the event, with information released only through rumors that the organization was repeatedly forced to delay its gen AI launch due to deficient performance. When the organization skipped last year's event and then sent out invitations to an event for Feb. 26, the logical speculation is that this is the dawn of Alexa [website].

While Alexa dominates the US market for virtual assistants, preferred by two-thirds of Americans, it's also not long ago fallen behind other assistants, including Google and, most not long ago, Siri. The release of OpenAI's ChatGPT in recent years triggered a tidal wave of generative AI that pushed other virtual assistants ashore, while Alexa appears to have sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

Also: Security firm discovers DeepSeek has 'direct links' to Chinese government servers.

ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot powered by OpenAI's technologies, Google Assistant powered by Gemini, and Siri powered by Apple LLMs and OpenAI have all become the go-to generative AI virtual assistants in the past [website] years. While their road to do so has been riddled with obstacles and delays, they've all gotten there sooner or later -- except for Amazon's Alexa.

Amazon is rumored to have a 'go, no-go' session on Feb. 14, 12 days before the event, to make a final decision on the launch.

Amazon's Alexa [website] is expected to work behind a subscription service that would range from $5 to $10 monthly. While this has been rumored for about a year, word is that Amazon is planning to introduce the upgraded Alexa for free to a limited number of clients.

Also: OpenAI's o3-mini now lets you see the AI's thought process.

The 'Classic Alexa' will still be available for clients who prefer not to pay the monthly fee, though it's unsure how long Amazon plans to maintain the current version.

While Amazon skipped its large-scale Devices and Services event last year, it still released several new devices from October through December of 2024, including the largest Echo Show ever -- the 21-inch model. Amazon also released a new Echo Show 15, its first-ever color Kindle, the Kindle Colorsoft, a new Kindle Scribe, a Fire TV Stick HD, and a new Fire HD 8 tablet.

Also: Mistral's AI chatbot comes to iOS and Android - here's why you should try it.

While this is already a full lineup of devices, Amazon could still launch some new hardware during its February 2025 event. Amazon could debut new Echo speakers, like an improved Amazon Echo overdue for an upgrade, or a new smart display designed to take advantage of the new generative AI-powered Alexa.

The summer of 2024 also saw the launch of the Echo Spot, a new smart speaker with a small screen that revives the clock radio.

While most of the focus for the Amazon Devices and Services events is on Alexa, we could see some Fire TV upgrades coming to Amazon's lineup of smart TV devices.

Amazon presented the Fire TV Omni Mini-LED series of smart TVs last November, as well as a new Soundbar Plus Series and upgraded 4-Series. While I'm not expecting a new lineup of Fire TV panels, I could see Amazon releasing new generative AI capabilities for existing Fire TVs or revamping its older Fire TV Sticks.

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