Why Amazon's CEO thinks the company's generative AI could be the next big thing

Amazon, which has maintained a relatively low profile in the field of generative artificial intelligence compared to Microsoft and Google, announced on Thursday that it is expanding its capacity to boost the technology globally and contribute to its democratisation.

The world’s biggest e-commerce company said its cloud subsidiary Amazon Web Services will become an integral component of the future generative AI boom.

“We are optimistic that much of this world-changing AI will be built on top of AWS,” Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, said in his annual letter to shareholders on Thursday.

Amazon’s share price jumped 1.67 per cent to close at $189.05 on Thursday. The company’s market capitalisation stood at $1.96 trillion.

AWS revenue increased 13 per cent to $91 billion last year. Photo: AWS

Generative AI technology was catapulted into the spotlight with ChatGPT, which was launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI in December 2022.

It is a programme that comes up with humanlike responses to prompts in seconds, based on information publicly available on the internet. However, its use and accuracy have come under scrutiny.

In December, Alphabet-owned Google launched Gemini, which became the first AI model to beat human experts on MMLU (Massive Multitask Language Understanding), one of the most widely used methods to test the knowledge and problem-solving abilities of the technology.

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Globally, AI investments are projected to hit $200 billion by 2025 and could possibly have a bigger impact on gross domestic product, Goldman Sachs Economic Research said in a report in August.

Mr Jassy, who become the chief executive in 2021 after the company’s founder Jeff Bezos stepped down, said future generative AI opportunities are numerous.

“Generative AI may be the largest technology transformation since the cloud, and perhaps since the internet … the amount of societal and business benefit from the solutions that will be possible will astound us all.”

In his letter to shareholders, Mr Jassy indirectly criticised rivals’ AI models, saying Amazon offers models from various companies, such as Anthropic, Stability AI, Meta, Cohere as well as its own models, instead of relying solely on one dominant AI model.

“Customers don’t want only one model. They want access to various models and model sizes for different types of applications,” he added.

Last year, Amazon’s total revenue grew 12 per cent yearly to $575 billion, while AWS revenue increased 13 per cent to $91 billion.

The company is expected to announce its last quarter earnings on April 25.

Know your Camel lingo

The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home

Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless

Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers

Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s

Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

COMPANY%20PROFILE

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SERIES SCHEDULE

First Test, Galle International Stadium
July 26-30
Second Test, Sinhalese Sports Club Ground
August 3-7
Third Test, Pallekele International Stadium
August 12-16
First ODI, Rangiri Dambulla Stadium
August 20
Second ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 24
Third ODI, Pallekele International Stadium
August 27
Fourth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
August 31
Fifth ODI, R Premadasa Stadium
September 3
T20, R Premadasa Stadium
September 6

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Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows

Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.

Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.

The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.

After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.

The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.

The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.

But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.

It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.

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