“Astro is our first consumer robot. It’s not going to be our last.”

Ken Washington, the executive in charge of Amazon’s first home robot, speaks confidently about the future despite mixed reviews and early skepticism about Astro’s usefulness. A nuclear engineer by training, Washington was chief technology officer at Ford Motor Co., overseeing initiatives including autonomous vehicles, before joining Amazon as VP of consumer robotics last year.

He sat down with us at Amazon re:MARS in Las Vegas.

“Astro is our first consumer robot. It’s not going to be our last.”
Ken Washington, the executive in charge of Amazon’s first home robot, speaks confidently about the future despite mixed reviews and early skepticism about Astro’s usefulness. A nuclear engineer by training, Washington was chief technology officer at Ford Motor Co., overseeing initiatives including autonomous vehicles, before joining Amazon as VP of consumer robotics last year.
He sat down with us at Amazon re:MARS in Las Vegas.

GeekWire brings you the week's latest technology news, trends and insights, covering the world of technology from our home base in Seattle. Our regular news podcast features commentary and analysis from our editors and reporters, plus interviews with special guests.

GeekWire reporters John Cook, Todd Bishop and guests talk about the latest tech news and trends.

GeekWire

Amazon's Astro ambitions

This week on the show, we get a sneak preview of the GeekWire Awards, coming up at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle on Thursday, May 9.
We look back at the past winners of the Next Tech Titan title in the awards, and consider the event's track record in predicting major companies to emerge from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
We also contemplate the evolution of the "Workplace of the Year" category through the rise of remote and hybrid work.
And finally, we consider the impact of migration on another part of state: Spokane, Wash., and the Inland Northwest.

See more GeekWire Awards coverage, and learn more about the event, which is presented by Astound Business Solutions.

With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.

This week on the show, we get a sneak preview of the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/events/geekwire-awards-2/">GeekWire Awards,</a> coming up at the Showbox SoDo in Seattle on Thursday, May 9.
<ul>
<li>We look back at the past winners of <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/next-tech-titan-motherduck-rec-room-statsig-submittable-zuper-vie-for-pivotal-geekwire-award/">the Next Tech Titan title</a> in the awards, and consider the event's track record in predicting major companies to emerge from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.</li>
<li>We also contemplate the evolution of the <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/vote-for-workplace-of-the-year-startups-employ-various-methods-in-their-commitment-to-culture/">"Workplace of the Year"</a> category through the rise of remote and hybrid work.</li>
<li>And finally, we consider <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/destination-spokane-how-remote-work-and-new-arrivals-are-changing-one-tech-community/">the impact of migration on</a> another part of state: Spokane, Wash., and the Inland Northwest.</li>
</ul>
See <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/special-coverage/geekwire-awards-2024/">more GeekWire Awards coverage</a>, and <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/events/geekwire-awards-2/">learn more about the event</a>, which is presented by Astound Business Solutions.
With GeekWire co-founders Todd Bishop and John Cook. Edited by Curt Milton.

Who will be the Next Tech Titan? Previewing the GeekWire Awards

This week on the show, we sit down with Werner Vogels, the Amazon chief technology officer, at Amazon in Seattle. We talked about the evolution of artificial intelligence, the promise of AI in healthcare and the environment, his broader tech predictions for the year, and one of his most iconic traditions at the company's annual cloud conference.

Read more on GeekWire:Amazon CTO Werner Vogels on the rapid progress of AI, and its impact on society
Werner Vogels - All Things Distributed
Archive of Now Go Build episodes
AWS re:Invent 2023 - Keynote with Dr. Werner Vogels
Tech Predictions for 2024 and beyond
@Werner on X.

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Edited by Curt Milton.

This week on the show, we sit down with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wernervogels/">Werner Vogels</a>, the Amazon chief technology officer, at Amazon in Seattle. We talked about the evolution of artificial intelligence, the promise of AI in healthcare and the environment, his broader tech predictions for the year, and one of his most iconic traditions at the company's annual cloud conference.
Read more on GeekWire: <a href="https://www.geekwire.com/2024/geekwire-podcast-amazon-cto-werner-vogels-on-the-rapid-evolution-of-ai-and-its-impact-on-society/">Amazon CTO Werner Vogels on the rapid progress of AI, and its impact on society</a>
<ul>
<li>Werner Vogels - <a href="https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/">All Things Distributed</a></li>
<li>Archive of <a href="https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/now-go-build.html">Now Go Build</a> episodes</li>
<li>AWS re:Invent 2023 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTRBVPvzt9w">Keynote with Dr. Werner Vogels</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.allthingsdistributed.com/2023/11/tech-predictions-for-2024-and-beyond.html">Tech Predictions for 2024 and beyond</a></li>
<li><a href="https://twitter.com/Werner">@Werner</a> on X.</li>
</ul>
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop; Edited by Curt Milton.

Amazon CTO Werner Vogels on AI, healthcare, and sustainability

This week on the show: Computer scientist Juan Lavista Ferres is corporate vice president and chief data scientist at Microsoft, and the lab director of Microsoft's AI for Good research lab, leading a team of data scientists and researchers in AI, machine learning and statistical modeling, focusing on global challenges like health, climate change, and digital literacy. He's one of the editors and authors of the new book AI for Good, Applications, in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action and Health, featuring case studies from Microsoft, to be published by Wiley on April 9. 

With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

This week on the show: Computer scientist <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jlavista/">Juan Lavista Ferres</a> is corporate vice president and chief data scientist at Microsoft, and the lab director of <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/group/ai-for-good-research-lab/">Microsoft's AI for Good research lab</a>, leading a team of data scientists and researchers in AI, machine learning and statistical modeling, focusing on global challenges like health, climate change, and digital literacy. He's one of the editors and authors of the new book <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/AI+for+Good%3A+Applications+in+Sustainability,+Humanitarian+Action,+and+Health-p-9781394235889">AI for Good, Applications, in Sustainability, Humanitarian Action and Health</a>, featuring case studies from Microsoft, to be published by Wiley on April 9. 
With GeekWire co-founder Todd Bishop. Edited by Curt Milton.

Amazon's Astro ambitions

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