Amazon recently announced four new e-readers in its stable of devices. One of these, the updated Scribe, will launch with access to generative AI features. If you already laid out money for the older model, never fear. You’ll still get your totally necessary AI fix.
The Scribe, “our fastest-growing Kindle since it launched in 2022”, will see the addition of on-device generative AI when it launches later this year. The catch? You’re supplying most of the data it’s working with.
Shorter Scribe scribbles
One of the functions of Amazon’s scribble-able e-reader is the ability to use it as a notepad. A stylus (called the Premium Pen) can be used to jot down your thoughts. That’s where the device gets its name from. The second generation lets users write directly on books as well as in the dedicated app but what do you do when your notes get too lengthy?
If you said ‘Write shorter notes?’ in a puzzled tone, you don’t belong on Amazon’s marketing team. No, the obvious answer is generative AI with the ability to read handwriting. That’s exactly what the second-gen Scribe is getting. The on-device critter will read what you’ve written (the ‘notes’) and render them into even shorter bullet points (essentially making ‘notes’ of your notes for you).
Why you can’t skip the intermediate step and have it do the same job with the text you’re trying to summarise by hand is beyond us. Presumably, that function can be added later when the obvious smacks Amazon between the eyes. In the meantime, owners of the previous Scribe don’t have to fret. The older model gets the same capability via a software update later this year, sometime around the second-gen reader’s 4 December on-sale date.
