The Vergecast The creepy AI era is here
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Jul 18, 2025 
Jen Pattison Tuohy, a smart home reviewer at The Verge, shares insights from her experience with the AI-powered Alexa Plus, highlighting its evolution and new capabilities. David Imel, co-host of Waveform, discusses the revival of compact cameras, focusing on Sony's RX1R III. The conversation takes a quirky turn as they explore Grok, an AI companion that raises questions about emotional connections with technology. They dive into the implications of AI in our homes and the fascinating intersections of nostalgia in photography.
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Jen's 24 Hour Alexa Test
- Jen Pattison Tuohy tested Alexa Plus for 24 hours with varied requests including booking and tennis questions.
- Alexa Plus showed both impressive capabilities and hallucinated answers during testing.
Alexa Plus Is Brand New
- Alexa Plus is a completely new assistant built from scratch using large language models.
- Its rollout is slow partly to avoid breaking existing Alexa features crucial to many users.
Risks of Voice AI Errors
- Voice AI assistants telling users incorrect facts confidently is more problematic than text bots.
- Alexa Plus balances being conversational and functional, but errors can have real home consequences.