Sharma reported in early November 2023 that Amazon’s obsession with Greek mythology is reflected in the names it gives its software. After launching Titan, a general-purpose family of foundational models, Amazon is currently in the initial stages of developing a conversational artificial intelligence codenamed Olympus.
The Information reported that Olympus will be Amazon’s answer to the AI leaps made by OpenAI and Microsoft in selling similar software to corporate customers. Another report by Reuters said that the company is investing millions in training Olympus, according to the two people familiar with the matter.
Bigger and better
Olympus is likely to be integrated with Amazon’s many offerings like its online retail store, cloud computing service AWS, and voice assistant Alexa on devices like Echo. In September, Amazon announced it’s injecting Alexa with generative AI capabilities powered by its new Alexa model. The goal? To provide users with a voice assistant that's not just smart but also more intuitive and useful.
Training AI models is expensive, as it demands a significant amount of computing power. In a financial briefing in April, Amazon's top brass spilled the beans on their game plan. They revealed they would be loosening the purse strings, funneling more funds into LLMS and generative AI, reported Reuters.
At the same time, they're tightening the belt on the logistical side—scaling back on their retail operations. It's a strategic shuffle to fuel the brains of AI while streamlining the nuts and bolts of the retail machine.
Insider reported earlier last month about a project called Nile, which would add AI to its retail search experience. The plan is to make the search more conversational, in-depth, and personalized.
Relentless pursuits of AI advancements
Insider revealed that Olympus will be of extraordinary scale, boasting a staggering 2 trillion parameters. This numerical magnitude positions it as potentially one of the largest models undergoing training processes. To contextualize, OpenAI’s GPT-4 is reported to have a configuration of one trillion parameters.
At the helm of this AI initiative is Rohit Prasad, the head scientist of the Artificial General Intelligence division, positioned under the direct purview of CEO Andy Jassy. Prasad is bringing smart people and resources from different parts of the company to make cool things happen in the world of artificial intelligence. Reportedly, researchers from the teams at Alexa AI and the Amazon science team have been called in to work together on training fancy AI models.
It remains unclear, though, as to when Amazon will unveil Olympus to the world.
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