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Reuters

A key way that Amazon’s cloud division aims to set itself apart from rivals perceived to have a leg up on artificial intelligence is by competing on price, an executive said on Tuesday.
The AI models behind a viral chatbot like ChatGPT require immense computing power to train and operate, the kinds of costs Amazon Web Services (AWS) is good at lowering, said Dilip Kumar, vice-president overseeing its applications group.
A potential boost is that the company, like Google, has proprietary chips for AI.
“These models are expensive,” Kumar said at the Reuters Momentum conference in Austin. “We’re taking on a lot of that undifferentiated heavy lifting, so as to be able to lower the cost for our customers.”
China asserts AI development goals, despite threat of new US tech restrictions
The world’s largest cloud provider by revenue faces a tall challenge. Rivals Microsoft and Google have marketed higher profile, proprietary technology, capturing mindshare and some business in the sector’s potentially lucrative AI contest.
Amazon’s competition has likewise focused on reducing costs and has marketed free previews of such technology, though final pricing remained unclear.
On quality, Kumar did not answer how Amazon’s own family of AI models known as Titan stacks up against its more famous counterparts such as the GPT series from Microsoft-backed OpenAI or Google’s PaLM.
He instead pointed to other Amazon traits, such as “our specific way of dealing with privacy, our specific way of dealing with accuracy”, at a time when concerns abound about what happens to confidential data given to AI and the technology’s tendency to generate incorrect information.

In addition, as the cloud industry’s biggest player, “more companies of all sizes have (their) data already in AWS”, he said, making it a reason to use its AI.
Like Google, Amazon is marketing the technology of other prominent start-ups to give customers choice.
The promise of AI aside, Amazon has faced uncertain economic conditions and slowing cloud revenue growth in the near term. Asked how Amazon’s budget planning for 2024 is progressing, Kumar said of companies generally: “We’re in a cycle where the spending is tight.”


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Amazon

Amazon Web Services sees AI advantage with low-priced cloud offerings as it takes on Microsoft, Google

The logo of Amazon Web Services seen during the 4th annual America Digital Latin American Congress of Business and Technology in Santiago, Chile, on September 5, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Dilip Kumar, vice-president of Amazon Web Services, speaks during the Reuters Momentum event, held to discuss the development and use of AI in Austin, Texas, on July 11, 2023. Photo: Reuters

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Code for an artificial intelligence large language model that could intelligently answer questions is seen on a computer screen. Photo: Shutterstock

China’s frenzy over ChatGPT-style services on full display at AI show despite Beijing’s caution

A view of the exhibition floor at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, July 6, 2023. Photo: AFP

People visit the Ant Group booth at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, July 6, 2023. Photo: AFP

Chinese online search giant Baidu’s Ernie Bot joins iFlytek’s Spark on Apple’s mainland App Store, but local AI chatbots still on trial mode

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Huawei taps into computing power shortage in China, touts self-developed AI tech amid ChatGPT craze

The Huawei logo is seen at its booth during the Mobile World Congress in Shanghai in June. Photo: Reuters

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AI-generated hits of Hong Kong stars surprise fans, bring dead singers back to life and raise questions about copyright

Illustration: Henry Wong

Singer Wan Kwong plans to learn how to sing AI-generated songs that were based on his voice and style. Photo: Edmond So

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Leslie Chan (second from the left) was the manager of Beyond in the 1980s. Photo: Handout 

Ryan Whalen, associate professor of law at the University of Hong Kong, says the trend of using generative AI in music can potentially make musicians vulnerable. Photo: SCMP

 Wong Ka-kui, the late lead singer of local rock band Beyond. Photo: Handout

AirTub members David Mak, Edwin Cheung, Kenny Ngai, Thomas Yu, Marcus Wan and Derek To. Photo: Handout

Dr Edmond Tsang doubts the trend of AI human voice covers will last. Photo: Edmond So

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AWS is good at lowering costs for the kind of immense computing power required to train AI models, the company’s vice-president overseeing applications says
Rivals Microsoft and Google have marketed higher profile technology, capturing mindshare in the potentially lucrative AI contest


AWS is good at lowering costs for the kind of immense computing power required to train AI models, the company’s vice-president overseeing applications says.


Amazon Web Services sees AI advantage with low-priced cloud offerings as it takes on Microsoft, Google

AWS is good at lowering costs for the kind of immense computing power required to train AI models, the company’s vice-president overseeing applications says Rivals Microsoft and Google have marketed higher profile technology, capturing mindshare in the potentially lucrative AI contest

AWS is good at lowering costs for the kind of immense computing power required to train AI models, the company’s vice-president overseeing applications says

Rivals Microsoft and Google have marketed higher profile technology, capturing mindshare in the potentially lucrative AI contest