In this episode of 'Two Voice Devs', hosts Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker discuss updates made to Alexa Presentation Language (APL) version 2023.3. They highlight conditional imports, updates made for animations, and more, including APL support for different devices and how to "handle" backward compatibility.

Learn More:

https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/alexa-presentation-language/apl-latest-version.html

00:08 Introduction and Welcome

00:17 Alexa Presentation Language (APL) Overview

01:02 Understanding APL and its Components

03:23 Exploring APL's Functionality and Usage

05:22 APL's Versioning Strategy and Device Compatibility

09:23 New Features in APL 2023.3: Conditional Imports

15:22 New Features in APL 2023.3: Item Insertion and Removal Commands

18:05 New Features in APL 2023.3: Control Over Scrolling and Paging

19:43 New Features in APL 2023.3: Accessibility Improvements

20:36 New Features in APL 2023.3: Frame Component Deprecation

22:23 New Features in APL 2023.3: Data Property for Sequential and Parallel Commands

25:07 New Features in APL 2023.3: Support for Variable Sized Viewports

26:47 New Features in APL 2023.3: Support for Lottie Files

28:33 New Features in APL 2023.3: String Functions and Vector Graphic Improvements

30:11 New Features in APL 2023.3: Extensions and APL Cheat Sheets

37:26 Strategies for Backwards Compatibility in APL

38:40 Conclusion and Farewell

In their New Year's discussion, Mark and Allen explore their hopes and predictions for technological advancements in 2024. They discuss the future of Large Language Models (and if that's the right name for them now), expressing anticipation for improvements in latency issues and the potential for models to be hosted on devices rather than cloud-based platforms. The conversation also ventures into the world of AI agents, function calling, and the importance of developers in ensuring safety measures are integrated in AI systems. Finally, they exude excitement about the possibility of AI in multimedia formats, where tools can generate differing output forms like text, video, images, and possibly even audio directly. They explore potential developer opportunities and challenges, emphasizing the importance of understanding regulations and ensuring user privacy and safety.

00:04 Introduction and New Year Reflections

02:05 Looking Forward: Predictions for 2024

02:14 The Future of Large Language Models (LLMs)

03:08 The Impact of LLMs on Voice Assistants

07:44 The Potential of On-Device AI Models

10:14 The Role of Developers in the AI Landscape

20:11 The Future of Multimodal AI Models

26:35 The Importance of Regulations in AI

29:22 Conclusion: Exciting Times Ahead

Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker, hosts of Two Voice Devs, reflect on the year 2023, discussing significant changes and trends in the #VoiceFirst and #GenerativeAI industry and where their predictions from last year were accurate... or fell short. They discuss the transformation and challenges Amazon faced, gleaning predictions from hints at large language models (LLMs) from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. They also mention the shift of Voiceflow towards LLMs and recall the notion of retrieval augmented generation.

00:04 Introduction and Welcome

00:12 Reflecting on the Past Year

01:13 Amazon's Progress and Challenges

01:59 Exploring Amazon's Monetization and Widgets

08:45 Google's Journey and the End of Conversational Actions

11:53 The Rise of Large Language Models (LLMs)

17:04 The Impact of Voiceflow and Dialogflow

20:48 Closing Remarks and New Year Wishes

Mark and Allen get into the Tech-mas spirit, with a little help from Bard.

Hoping you all have the happiest of holiday seasons.

#GenerativeAI #VoiceFirst #ConversationalAI #HappyHolidays

In this in-depth chat between Allen Firstenberg and Linda Lawton, they dive into the functionalities and potential of Google's newly released Gemini model. From their initial experiences to exciting possibilities for the future, they discuss the Gemini Pro and Gemini Pro Vision models, how to #BuildWithGemini, its focus on both text and images, and speedier and more cohesive responses compared to older models. They also delve into its potential for multi-modal support, unique reasoning capabilities, and the challenges they've encountered. The conversation draws interesting insights and sparks exciting ideas on how Gemini could evolve in the future.

00:04 Introduction and Welcome

00:23 Discussing the New Gemini Model

01:33 Comparing Gemini and Bison Models

02:07 Exploring Gemini's Vision Model

03:03 Gemini's Response Quality and Speed

03:53 Gemini's Token Length and Context Window

05:05 Gemini's Pricing and Google AI Studio

05:33 Upcoming Projects and Previews

06:16 Gemini's Role in Code Generation

07:54 Gemini's Model Variants and Limitations

12:01 Creating a Python Desktop App with Gemini

14:07 Gemini's Potential for Assisting the Visually Impaired

18:35 Gemini's Ability to Reason and Count

20:15 Gemini's Multi-Step Reasoning

20:33 Testing Gemini with Multiple Images

21:52 Exploring Image Recognition Capabilities

22:13 Discussing the Limitations of 3D Object Recognition

23:53 Testing Image Recognition with Personal Photos

24:52 Potential Applications of Image Recognition

25:45 Exploring the Multimodal Capabilities of the AI

26:41 Discussing the Challenges of Using the AI in Europe

27:26 Exploring the AQA Model and Its Potential

33:37 Discussing the Future of AI and Image Recognition

37:12 Wishlist for Future AI Capabilities

40:11 Wrapping Up and Looking Forward

Join Allen Firstenberg and guest host Noble Ackerson, at the Voice and AI 2023 conference. They discuss the growth of AI and how LLM (large language models) are affecting the tech world and delve deep into topics like LangChain, generative AI, and how to optimize AI operations to tackle network latency. There are also plenty of audience questions, exploring the current challenges in AI and potential solutions.

00:03 Introduction and Background of Two Voice Devs

00:31 The Evolution of Voice Technology and AI

01:50 Interactive Q&A Session Begins

01:58 Discussion on Open Source Software and Generative AI

02:59 Deep Dive into LangChain

05:43 Audience Participation and Questions

06:00 Challenges with LangChain and Overhead

08:14 Exploring the Intersection of Voice Technology and Generative AI

12:51 Addressing Network Latency in Voice Technology

19:49 The Future of AI and Voice Technology

26:53 Addressing the Challenges of Network Latency

37:13 Closing Remarks and Future Engagements

Join Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg on Thanksgiving Day for a sincere heart-to-heart on the highs and lows of their tech industry journey. Expressing their gratitude for their family, friends, and colleagues in the tech industry and beyond, they acknowledge the challenging times faced by many. They call on their viewers to remember how unique and important they are and invite them to express their thoughts and emotions openly by reaching out to them.

00:04 Introduction and Thanksgiving Greetings

00:28 Reflecting on the Past Year

02:19 Gratitude for Personal Relationships

03:54 Acknowledging Industry Challenges and Layoffs

05:59 Importance of Community and Support

07:59 Encouragement and Closing Remarks

Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg delve into the recent changes made by VoiceFlow. We explore how VoiceFlow, originally a design resource for Alexa Skills and Google Assistant Actions, has evolved and shifted to include chatbot roles and generative AI responses. Highlighted too are the implications of VoiceFlow's decoupling and transition to 'bot logic as a service'. We look at the necessary technical adjustments and solutions required in the aftermath of these changes, and Mark shares how he created a Jovo plugin as a hassle-free 'integration layer' for handling multiple platforms, taking advantage of Jovo's generic input output.

More info:

00:04 Introduction

00:54 Introducing VoiceFlow

01:44 Exploring VoiceFlow's Evolution

03:13 Understanding VoiceFlow's Changes

05:39 Explaining the VoiceFlow Integration

14:39 Discussing the VoiceFlow Dialog API

25:42 Conclusion

On this episode, Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg dive deep into the latest announcements by OpenAI. They discuss various developments including the launch of GPTs (collections of prompts and documents with configuration settings), the new text-to-speech model, upcoming GPT-4 Turbo, reproducible outputs, and the introduction of the Assistant API. While they express excitement for what these developments could mean for #VoiceFirst, #ConversationAI, and #GenerativeAI, they also voice concerns about discovery solutions, monetization, and the reliance on platform-based infrastructure. Tune in and join the conversation.

More info:

00:04 Introduction and OpenAI Announcements Edition

00:52 Discussion on OpenAI's New Text to Speech Model

02:15 Exploring the Pricing and Quality of OpenAI's Text to Speech Model

02:52 Concerns and Limitations of OpenAI's Text to Speech Model

06:24 Introduction to GPT 4 Turbo

06:48 Benefits and Limitations of GPT 4 Turbo

09:27 Exploring the Features of GPT 4 Turbo

18:52 Introduction to GPTs and Their Potential

22:22 Concerns and Questions About GPTs

32:14 Discussion on the Assistant API

37:32 Final Thoughts and Wrap Up

Allen and Mark discuss the practical uses and advantages offered by MakerSuite, an API currently available for Google's PaLM #GenerativeAI model. We look at its unique feature that treats prompts like templates, allowing for versatile manipulation of these templates for varying results. We further delve into how it saves these prompts in Google Drive and how this can be linked to LangChain's new hub concept, leading to an effective 'MakerSuite hub.' Finally, we explore if prompts are more like code or content, and how that fits into the development process. What do you think?

More info: