Grandma, is that you? Amazon previews new Alexa voice capability

Turning to the cloud to manage satellites | Gates Foundation backs DNA analysis startup ADVERTISEMENT [GeekWire]( SPONSOR MESSAGE: Grab your Sounders gear and join us for a Rooftop BBQ + Sounders Day on Tuesday, August 2nd: [Register today!]( TODAY'S TOP STORIES Grandma, is that you? Amazon previews new Alexa voice capability: Describing voice synthesis technology as a way to preserve the memories of loved ones, Amazon demonstrated where its AI assistant may be headed in the future. A short video of a child asking Alexa to have his grandmother read the “Wizard of Oz” was generating buzz at the company’s re:MARS conference in Las Vegas. (Above, Rohit Prasad, Alexa AI senior VP.) [Read more.]( More re:Mars coverage: [More AI for devs: Amazon unveils CodeWhisperer machine-learning ‘coding companion]( Internal memo: Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wrote that “it’s not lost on any of us that we’re losing two of our most senior black leaders,” in a message to senior leaders about the departure of Alicia Boler Davis, senior vice president of global customer fulfillment, and Dave Bozeman, vice president of Amazon Transportation Services. [Read more](. Turning to the cloud to manage satellites: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration teamed with Microsoft and Seattle-area startup Xplore to determine that cloud-based services could provide critical satellite mission operations. [Read more.]( SAP cuts workers in ‘restructuring’: The tech giant, which acquired Seattle-area travel expensive giant Concur in 2014, is making changes to its product engineering organization, [impacting fewer than 30 people]( based in the PNW. Gates Foundation backs DNA analysis startup: Seattle’s Phase Genomics is getting $5.5 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. National Institutes of Health to catalog the diversity of viruses that infect bacteria. [Read more.]( ‘Big Data’ and the search for alien civilizations: Could far-off aliens be sending out signals telling us they exist? University of Washington researchers focusing on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, or SETI, are using a strategy that applies simple trigonometry to millions of data points. [Read more.]( Thanks for reading, and have a great day. — GeekWire Managing Editor Taylor Soper, taylor@geekwire.com, and reporter Kurt Schlosser, kurt@geekwire.com. SPONSOR MESSAGE [Make a career out of your passion at the UW.]( The University of Washington’s M.S. in Information Management is designed for data lovers who want to bridge humanities and technology and solve complex problems with human-centered, data-driven solutions. Customize your curriculum with a specialization and earn your degree in one calendar year with the Mid-Career track’s part-time flexibility. Learn more at [go.uwmsim.com](. LATEST HEADLINES [More AI for devs: Amazon unveils CodeWhisperer machine-learning ‘coding companion’]( [SAP cuts staff as part of ‘restructuring program,’ fewer than 30 impacted in Pacific Northwest]( [Gates Foundation funds biotech company cataloging the viruses that infect bacteria]( [Microsoft and Xplore team up with NOAA to demonstrate cloud-based satellite operations]( [Amazon previews Alexa capability that synthesizes a person’s voice from less than a minute of audio]( SPONSORED: GEEK REAL ESTATE [Magnolia Aerie]( [How ‘Big Data’ could help SETI researchers intensify the search for alien civilizations]( GEEKWORK: TODAY'S TECH JOBS - [INRIX: Senior Frontend Engineer]( - [Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence: Sr. Software Development Engineer]( - [Presage Biosciences: Database Developer]( - [Flyhomes: Senior Back End Engineer]( - [Stratascale, an SHI Company: Sr. Software Engineer]( - [Flyhomes: Senior Product Designer]( - [Docugami: Director of Business Development]( - [Creative Destruction Lab - Seattle: SITE DIRECTOR – CREATIVE DESTRUCTION LAB]( - [Flyhomes: Senior Product Manager, Client Experiences]( - [Docugami: ML Engineer]( [FIND MORE JOBS ON GEEKWORK]( [HIRING? BUY A FEATURED LISTING TO APPEAR HERE]( [About GeekWire]( [Contact Us]( [Advertise]( Copyright © 2022 GeekWire LLC, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted to receive emails from GeekWire LLC.  Our mailing address is: GeekWire LLC 123 NW 36th St, Suite 203 Seattle, WA 98107  [change email frequency or address]( | [unsubscribe](