Amazon’s Alexa -- yes, the virtual assistant -- just turned 8 years old. And the technology around the smart home, artificial intelligence, and really the overall sector has come a long way since 2014.
What started as an original long canister smart speaker called the “Echo” has evolved into a full product line and tossed Alexa into other devices. However, one thing that’s remained a constant is the ability to ask Alexa a range of things. From a friendly hello, to the weather, and of course to tell a joke.
With the latter, you can argue some are good and some are bad, but at the minimum it’s a frequently used party trick. And alongside Alexa turning 8, (AMZN) offering deep discounts on smart speakers and displays, we chatted with two folks who work on Alexa’s humor: Billy Brush and Will North who are both Associate Creative Directors for Alexa at Amazon.
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The biggest change since the Echo first arrived would be volume. After all, more folks have smart speakers at home, and the team working on humor — as well as personality -- have expanded the repertoire of jokes that Alexa knows.
Currently, Alexa speaks in nine languages and across the world the assistant is capable of telling thousands of jokes. And in specific regions, the team does work to have Alexa give relevant choices for humor. Similar to how weather and other requests are by region.
Who’s writing the jokes? Well, it’s Billy Brush and Will North, along with content creators who stem from a broader team working on Alexa. North expanded on the types of jokes this team writes by stating that:
“Alexa knows jokes on hundreds of broad topics ranging from animals to zombies, food, sports, science, tech, math, entertainment and more.”
Noting that the experience has expanded beyond just saying “Alexa, tell me a joke,” too “Alexa, tell me a Halloween joke.” Like other Alexa talking points, humor and jokes as a whole can be more specific.
They were both quick to note as well that Alexa doesn’t strive to be meany or filled with profanities. But rather ensure that any joke the virtual assistant will tell is appropriate for any age within a family. Though, if you have a profile setup and it knows a child is asking, it can pull up a joke that is more geared towards a younger sense of humor.
The other key thing is that unlike a standup comedian or an everyday person telling a joke, Alexa doesn’t listen for the reaction. It doesn’t operate in the way “Hunches” does where the assistant may listen for a follow-up. Alexa ultimately doesn't know how the joke landed from laughter or the lack of.
If you want to give that feedback, it needs to be done specifically — like in the form of you stating “Alexa, that was funny” or “Alexa, I hated that.” Or if you ask for more jokes, Alexa can get the hint that you’re enjoying them.
What about some favorite jokes? Well, Amazon wouldn’t share them by location, but we did get a few favorites from the team:
- If your family has a lot of math nerds, it means you have square roots.
- I tried to write a joke about the value of pi, but it went on and on and on. And on… and on and on and on and on…
- How many software developers does it take to change a light bulb? None. They prefer dark mode.
- Why did the continents split up? They wanted to keep their relationship purely tectonic.
- I really dig earthworms, but I’ve never met one that doesn’t have a dirty mouth.
Off the theme of halloween, it was a pretty busy month for Alexa telling jokes -- ahead are three of the most popular ones that were presented in Oct. of 2022.
- Why was the Zombie so stressed out? It bit off more than it could chew.
- What happens when Thor breaks wind? There's thunder from down under!
- Why didn't the T-Rex cross the road? It wasn't a chicken yet.
Some are better than others, but we’ll let you decide. Another interesting development is how these jokes are presented on Echo Shows. When a screen is available, the interface will show captions for what Alexa is speaking, but recently they’re pairing it with visuals.
For instance, with halloween if it was a joke about zombies, there would be a cartoon one on screen. Amazon noted that they'll continue to roll this out and evolve it based on customer feedback.
In terms of the rollout of new material, Brush and Norths’ team deliver new jokes weekly. These can be ones that are just classics or ones that are more tied back to topical developments. In addition some of the changes can be improvements to jokes based on feedback that they gather.
Jokes and humor as a whole are clearly a big part of Alexa and fit into the overall personality of the virtual assistant. Similar to having a conversation with a friend or family member, how that conversation flows as well as cues is important. And it’s clearly something that Amazon is working on.
And since we’re still in Alexa’s birthday week, it is also a time when Amazon is offering discounts on a range of Echo speakers and displays. You can pick one up to get started and get a feel for Alexa, to expand your smart home ecosystem, or even to just to hear a few jokes.
Echo Dot 3rd Gen ($17.99, originally $39.99 at Amazon)
Amazon
It’s not the latest model, but this Echo Dot is similar in size to a hockey puck or doughnut with the ability to push out surprisingly clear audio. More importantly though, it gives you instant access to Alexa for under $20. You’ll also score six months of Amazon Music Unlimited for free.
Echo Dot 5th Gen ($49.99 at Amazon)
The latest Echo Dot features an improved audio experience, a new spherical design, and some new tricks that let it act as a Wi-Fi access point for Eero systems.
Prices are accurate and items are in stock at the time of publishing.
