In early assessments with a assessment unit of Bee, we discovered the machine itself was simple to make use of. It’s only a press of a button to show recording on or off. Within the app, you may configure whether or not a double press bookmarks a piece of the dialog, processes the present dialog, or each, and you’ll set whether or not a press and maintain gesture permits you to depart a voice notice or chat with the AI assistant. (Bee’s companion app at the moment reminds you to allow voice notes, so we did.)
Like many different AI services and products, similar to Plaud, Granola, Fathom, Fireflies, Otter, and extra, Bee can hear, document, and transcribe audio conversations. The place it differs is that as a substitute of providing an summary or a uncooked transcript, it segments the audio into sections and summarizes every half. As an illustration, an interview could be segmented into sections just like the introduction, the nitty-gritty product particulars, an summary of business traits, and no matter else you’ll have talked about.
Every part is tinted with a special background colour for simpler differentiation as you scroll. You possibly can faucet into a person part to see the precise transcription.
It wasn’t instantly apparent the best way to label the audio system within the app — we realized we might faucet on a section of the dialog to verify if we had been the speaker, however this fell in need of different skilled AI transcribers, the place every speaker may very well be labeled. As well as, Bee discards the audio after transcription, making it a non-starter to be used circumstances the place it’s good to play again the audio to make sure accuracy.
That mentioned, Bee isn’t essentially meant to be a piece instrument. Amazon sees this as an AI that may dwell alongside you as you go about your day. By integrating with Google’s companies, Bee can tie a recorded dialog to a job. As an illustration, after assembly somebody at a convention, it might recommend that you just buddy them on LinkedIn or analysis their product.
You may as well depart your self voice notes, as a substitute for writing one thing down in your notes app, as an example.
One other part in Bee’s app permits you to look again at previous days’ recollections, whereas a “Develop” part will supply insights the extra it learns about you. You may as well affirm and add to a “information” part about your self, which is considerably equal to different AI chatbots’ means to recollect stuff you mentioned.
Amazon says it is going to be delivery extra options for Bee within the 12 months forward.
Bee isn’t at all times listening by default, which is why rival wearables like the Friend AI pendant saw backlash. As a substitute, you’re meant to ask should you can document somebody’s dialog (until at a public occasion of some type, the place recording is already anticipated).
If you do document, a inexperienced mild activates, alerting others to the truth that the machine is in use.
Bee’s sports activities band was a little bit flimsy. The band fell off twice whereas being worn, each occasions whereas simply sitting and never transferring the arms a lot (like in a taxi). We’ve got not but examined the clip-on pin, however it feels extra sturdy.
General, the cell app’s design is much forward of the apps Amazon has constructed in-house, just like the Alexa cell expertise, and it’s simple to make use of. However the premise that we’d like an AI particularly to document conversations to be taught extra about us remains to be largely untested. Is there a world the place such units make sense for customers who aren’t recording in skilled settings, like conferences and interviews?
Plus, if AI listening units go mainstream, there may even must be some kind of cultural shift by way of what’s acceptable and what’s not. Right this moment, it’s considerably seemed down upon to document video of on a regular basis individuals going about their lives, although it’s technically authorized after they’re in public; equally, it could be thought of tasteless or gauche to document audio with an AI machine should you don’t first ask permission.
Not everybody will abide by that social contract, in fact, which might see individuals self-censoring their speech in public.
At CES, as an example, we had been chatting with a rep on the Soundcore sales space. After they appreciated one thing I mentioned a few competitor’s product, they joked, ‘Say that louder into my microphone,’ pointing to the already-recording AI machine subtly pinned to their shirt. It was an odd expertise to appreciate that every part mentioned in the actual world might someday be “on the document,” whether or not you consented or not.
Bee’s traction — or lack thereof — will assist Amazon decide if that’s a world that buyers truly need.
