Big Tech Break-Ups, Cardboard Comeback, and Voice Strategy
Will Tech Giant Break-Ups Solve Everything?
Would a new regulatory plan in the United States, one that resolves to break up the nation’s largest tech companies (think Google, Facebook and Amazon), solve everything?
Of course not.
But, according to some, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, it’s a great place to start.
According to Warren and many of her supporters, the United States needs to become more competitive, especially when it comes to technology, in order to remain a pacesetter and innovator. One way to do this is to split apart dual entities, like Amazon Marketplace and AmazonBasics, paving way for new companies and new growth.
Rather than viewing it as “undermining” big tech, the goal is to fuel smaller tech businesses, including former staples in the global economy, so that they have a fighting chance at survival.
Part of Warren’s latest plan would also require huge acquisitions made by tech giants to be rolled back, impacting deals between Facebook and Instagram, as well as Amazon and Whole Foods, to name a few.
The Cardboard Comeback Kids
A more than a century-old paper mill in the village of Combined Locks, Wisconsin is back in business - and it’s all thanks to Amazon (which will come as a surprise to many). The mill, which opened in 1889, has been the main employer of the small village, which meant that its closing was more than just a huge lost to the community - it was quite possibly the end of it.
But then, in an unexpected twist, Amazon got in touch with the paper mill and helped it reopen its doors. Today, the paper mill isn’t just surviving, it’s thriving, and it’s all because Amazon is booming.
Working on connecting the dots?
Here’s what happened.
You know those brown packages Amazon uses to ship everything? Well, as the ecommerce giant grew, so did the demand for the materials needed to make those boxes, specifically cardboard. Shipping millions of packages each year, the booming ecommerce industry has increased the demand of cardboard dramatically (to the tune of billions more square feet needed every year). And, who better to make that cardboard than out-of-business paper mills all around the United States? So, while the digital revolution has taken its toll on paper manufacturers, it turns out there still are opportunities for symbiotic (and successful) relationships.
Let Alexa Guide Your Business’s Voice Strategy?
More and more brands are embracing AI, especially when it comes to implementing automation and systems. With the range of companies turning to AI for business-wide solutions, from small local services to household name brands, it looks like AI is here to stay.
The problem?
Businesses are focusing their attention on using the AI technology already in place (created by the world’s largest tech platforms like Google and Amazon), rather than investing in creating their own. While it’s a smart short-term plan, the long-term repercussions are something to think about.
And, unfortunately, very few people are doing just that.
The world of AI is, according to some business experts, a “dictatorship”, where “the world’s largest technology companies control access to your company’s data and your brand’s front door”. Although a lot of businesses have experimented with Voice AI, specifically in the form of “skills” and “actions”, the concept hasn’t taken off. As a result, most companies are investing in making sure they can be found on these voice assistant platforms, rather than making a (smarter) investment in controlling the AI API themselves.
Why does developing your own AI API matter?
In 2018, Amazon released a report that stated they now have “more than 10,000 people working on Alexa and the devices it powers”. This workforce is committed to making Alexa better, not on “developing and advancing their APIs”. Obviously, if Amazon was concerned about improving its API for the companies that are using it, some of this massive workforce would be dedicated to doing just that.
The biggest concern is for companies (including Spotify and Bank of America) that have already invested resources (years and millions of dollars) in using Alexa’s voice AI. When and if Amazon changes how its API works (which, when looking at its history is likely), then these companies will be left scrambling - and with fewer resources to scramble.
The other concern?
Many of the companies that rely on Amazon’s AI API are competitors and, when in the jungle, it’s every man for himself, which means Amazon will (and does) control which products and services show up during voice searches. (And, as you guessed, it’s Amazon first, every single time.)