Two Voice Devs
201 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago -Mark and Allen talk about the latest news in the VoiceFirst world from a developer point of view.
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Episodes
Episode 198 - Wisdom from Unparsed: LLMs are Hammers, Not Silver Bullets
July 12, 2024 15:00 - 41 minutes - 38.3 MBJoin us on Two Voice Devs as we welcome back Roger Kibbe. Fresh off emceeing the developer track at the Unparsed Conference in London, Roger shares his insights on the biggest takeaways, trends, and challenges facing #GenAI, #VoiceFirst and #ConversationalAI developers today. Get ready for a dose of reality as Roger emphasizes the need to view LLMs as powerful tools – think hammers – rather than magical solutions. We dive deep into: Timestamps: * 0:00 - Intro * 1:56 - Exploring the Unpar...
Episode 197 - Alexa Skill Development in the Age of LLMs
July 05, 2024 16:01 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBWhat should people developing with LLMs learn from a decade of experience building Alexa skills? How will Alexa skill developers leverage the latest #GenerativeAI and #CoversationalAI tools as they continue to build #VoiceFirst and multimodal skills? Join Allen and Mark on Two Voice Devs as they delve into the evolving landscape of Alexa skill development in the era of large language models (LLMs). Sparked by a thought-provoking discussion on the Alexa forums, they explore the potential ben...
Epsidoe 196 - Is GPT 4o a Game Changer?
June 06, 2024 17:00 - 22 minutes - 20.9 MBOpenAI's ChatGPT 4o and GPT 4o announcements have sent shockwaves through the developer community! In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Mark and Allen dive into the implications of these new models, comparing them to Google's Gemini. We discuss: [00:00:10] Initial takeaways from the OpenAI presentations. [00:02:29] The impressive voice capabilities of ChatGPT 4o. [00:04:49] Concerns about OpenAI's ambitions for conversational AI. [00:07:30] The difference between "doing" and "knowing" AI ...
Episode 195 - Android, Agents, and the Rabbit R1
May 30, 2024 15:00 - 35 minutes - 32.3 MBAllen Firstenberg chats with fellow Google Developer Expert (GDE) Mike Wolfson about his career, the evolution of Android, and his new interest in generative AI. Mike shares his thoughts on the future of AI with agents, Large Action Models (LAMs), and the potential of the "Rabbit," a new AI-powered device. Does the Rabbit live up to its promise? If not - what could? Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction 00:01:32 - Mike's career journey 00:04:15 - Transition from enterprise Java to Android ...
Episode 194 - Google AI/O 2024
May 17, 2024 15:00 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBJoin Allen and Roya as they dissect the major AI announcements from Google I/O 2024. From Gemini updates and new models to responsible AI and groundbreaking projects like ASTRA, this episode dives into the future of AI development. Timestamps: [00:00:00] Introduction and Google I/O Overview [00:02:00] Gemini 1.5 Flash & Gemini 1.5 Pro: New Models and Features [00:04:30] AI Studio Access Expansion for Europe, UK & Switzerland [00:06:20] Choosing the Right AI Model for Your Project [00:0...
Episode 193 - Revolutionizing Intent Classification
May 09, 2024 15:00 - 39 minutes - 36.6 MBJoin Allen and Mark as they delve into Voiceflow's groundbreaking new feature: intent classification using a hybrid of LLMs and classic NLU models. Discover how this innovative approach leverages the strengths of both technologies to achieve greater accuracy and flexibility in understanding user intent. How they're doing it just may blow your mind! 🤯 Timestamps: 0:00:00 - Introduction 0:00:33 - Exploring the concept of intents and slots in conversational UI 0:05:11 - Understanding Natura...
Episode 192 - Google Cloud Next 2024 Recap
April 26, 2024 15:00 - 40 minutes - 37.2 MBJoin Allen Firstenberg and guest host Stefania Pecore on Two Voice Devs as they delve into the exciting announcements and highlights from Google Cloud Next 2024! This episode focuses on the latest advancements in AI and their impact on the healthcare industry, providing valuable insights for developers and tech enthusiasts. Learn more: * https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/google-cloud-next/google-cloud-next-2024-wrap-up Timestamps: 00:00:00: Introduction 00:01:02: Stefania's backgroun...
Episode 191 - Beyond the Hype: Exploring BERT
April 19, 2024 15:00 - 40 minutes - 36.9 MBThis episode of Two Voice Devs takes a closer look at BERT, a powerful language model with applications beyond the typical hype surrounding large language models (LLMs). We delve into the specifics of BERT, its strengths in understanding and classifying text, and how developers can utilize it for tasks like sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and more. Timestamps: 0:00:00: Introduction 0:01:04: What is BERT and how does it differ from LLMs? 0:02:16: Exploring Hugging Face and the BER...
Episode 190 - Google Gemma's Tortoise and Hare Adventure
April 11, 2024 15:30 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBEmbark on a wild race with Gemma as we explore the exciting (and sometimes slow) world of running Google's open-source large language model! We'll test drive different methods, from the leisurely pace of Ollama on a local machine to the speedier Groq platform. Join us as we compare these approaches, analyzing performance, costs, and ease of use for developers working with LLMs. Will the tortoise or the hare win this race? Learn more: * Model card: https://console.cloud.google.com/vertex-ai...
Episode 189 - Farewell, ADR: The Impact on Alexa Developers
April 05, 2024 15:00 - 26 minutes - 24.1 MBThe Alexa Developer Rewards Program (ADR) is shutting down, leaving many developers wondering about the future of Alexa skills. Mark and Allen discuss the implications of this change, explore alternative monetization options, and share their thoughts on the future of skill development. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro and announcement of the ADR program ending 1:45 - History of the ADR program and its impact on skill development 7:13 - Discussion of the Skill Developer Accelerator Program (SDAP)...
Episode 188 - Building Responsible AI with Gemini
March 29, 2024 15:00 - 30 minutes - 27.6 MBAs large language models (LLMs) become increasingly powerful, ensuring their responsible use is crucial. In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Allen and Mark delve into Google's Gemini LLM, specifically its built-in safety features designed to prevent harmful outputs like harassment, hate speech, sexually explicit content, and dangerous information. Join them as they discuss: (00:01:55) The importance of safety features in LLMs and Google's approach to responsible AI. (00:03:08) A walkthroug...
Episode 187 - LLMs in Developer Tools
March 21, 2024 15:00 - 26 minutes - 24.2 MBIn this episode of Two Voice Devs, Mark and Allen discuss how developers can leverage AI tools like ChatGPT to improve their workflow. Mark shares his experience using ChatGPT to generate an OpenAPI specification from TypeScript types, saving him significant time and effort. They discuss the benefits and limitations of using AI for code generation, emphasizing the importance of understanding the generated code and maintaining healthy skepticism. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:49 ...
Episode 186 - Conversational AI with Voiceflow Functions
March 14, 2024 15:00 - 26 minutes - 24.7 MBJoin us on Two Voice Devs as we chat with Xavi, Head of Cloud Infrastructure at Voiceflow, about the exciting new Voiceflow Functions feature and the future of conversational AI development. Xavi shares his journey into the world of bots and assistants, dives into the technology behind Voiceflow's infrastructure, and explains how functions empower developers to create custom, reusable components for their conversational experiences. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:00:49 Xavi's journe...
Episode 185 - Cloud vs Local LLMs: A Developer's Dilemma
March 07, 2024 16:00 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBIn this episode of Two Voice Devs, Allen Firstenberg and Roger Kibbe explore the rising trend of local LLMs, smaller language models designed to run on personal devices instead of relying on cloud-based APIs. They discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this approach, focusing on data privacy, control, cost efficiency, and the unique opportunities it presents for developers. They also delve into the importance of fine-tuning these smaller models for specific tasks, enabling them to excel...
Episode 184 - Large Action Models: The Future of Conversational AI?
March 01, 2024 18:00 - 39 minutes - 35.9 MBJoin Allen and Mark on Two Voice Devs as they dive into the world of Large Action Models (LAMs) and explore their potential to revolutionize how we build chatbots and voice assistants. Inspired by Braden Ream's article "How Large Action Models Work and Change the Way We Build Chatbots and Agents," the discussion dissects the core functions of conversational AI - understand, decide, and respond - and examines how LAMs might fit into this framework. Allen and Mark also compare and contrast L...
Episode 183 - Gemini 1.5: One Million Tokens, Endless Possibilities? 🤯
February 23, 2024 16:00 - 45 minutes - 41.5 MBGoogle's Gemini 1.5 is here, boasting a mind-blowing 1 million token context window! 🤯 Join Allen and Linda as they dive deep into this experimental AI, exploring its capabilities, limitations, and potential use cases. 🤔 They share their experiences testing Gemini 1.5 with original content, including Two Voice Devs transcripts and synthetic videos, and discuss the challenges of finding data that hasn't already been used to train the AI. 🧐 Get ready for a lively discussion on hallucinations...
Episode 182 - Bard Becomes Gemini: Why Devs Care
February 09, 2024 17:01 - 18 minutes - 17.4 MBIn this episode of Two Voice Devs, hosts Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker discuss Gemini, Google's latest name for its Generative AI... stuff. Originally known as separate products including Bard and Duet AI, Gemini encompasses a suite of AI tools, including chatbots, product-specific assistants, models, and APIs that developers can use for various tasks. The discussion covers how Gemini compares with offerings from other companies such as OpenAI and Microsoft, including visible similaritie...
Episode 181 - Let Your Web Pages Talk With CSS
February 02, 2024 16:00 - 43 minutes - 39.5 MBIn this episode of Two Voice Devs, hosts Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker discuss the CSS Speech Module Level 1 Candidate Recommendation Draft, a standard that enables webpages to talk, developed in collaboration with the voice browser activity. They explore its features including the 'aural' box model concept, voice families, earcons and more, drawing parallels with SSML and highlight its innovative approach to web accessibility complementing screen readers. Despite acknowledging its poten...
Episode 180 - Run Rabbit One
January 29, 2024 16:00 - 47 minutes - 43.4 MBForget Apps! Talking to this Orange Cube Could Change Everything Is the app model broken? The creators of Rabbit R1, a new voice-first device, certainly think so. In this episode of Two Voice Devs, Mark and Allen break down this innovative device and its potential to change how we interact with technology. What do developers think about the technology underlying RabbitOS? You may be surprised! Key topics: 00:02:00 - What is the Rabbit R1? Rabbit R1 is a new type of device that prioritizes...
Episode 179 - What's New With APL 2023.3
January 12, 2024 16:00 - 39 minutes - 36.1 MBIn this episode of 'Two Voice Devs', hosts Allen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker discuss updates made to Alexa Presentation Language (APL) version 2023.3. They highlight conditional imports, updates made for animations, and more, including APL support for different devices and how to "handle" backward compatibility. Learn More: https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/docs/alexa/alexa-presentation-language/apl-latest-version.html 00:08 Introduction and Welcome 00:17 Alexa Presentation Language (AP...
Episode 178 - Looking Forward to 2024
January 05, 2024 16:00 - 30 minutes - 27.8 MBIn their New Year's discussion, Mark and Allen explore their hopes and predictions for technological advancements in 2024. They discuss the future of Large Language Models (and if that's the right name for them now), expressing anticipation for improvements in latency issues and the potential for models to be hosted on devices rather than cloud-based platforms. The conversation also ventures into the world of AI agents, function calling, and the importance of developers in ensuring safety me...
Episode 177 - Looking Back at 2023
December 29, 2023 16:00 - 21 minutes - 19.8 MBAllen Firstenberg and Mark Tucker, hosts of Two Voice Devs, reflect on the year 2023, discussing significant changes and trends in the #VoiceFirst and #GenerativeAI industry and where their predictions from last year were accurate... or fell short. They discuss the transformation and challenges Amazon faced, gleaning predictions from hints at large language models (LLMs) from Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple. They also mention the shift of Voiceflow towards LLMs and recall the notion of ...
Episode 176 - The Night Before Tech-mas
December 21, 2023 16:00 - 3 minutes - 3.35 MBMark and Allen get into the Tech-mas spirit, with a little help from Bard. Hoping you all have the happiest of holiday seasons. #GenerativeAI #VoiceFirst #ConversationalAI #HappyHolidays
Episode 175 - Gemini: A First Look
December 15, 2023 16:00 - 41 minutes - 38.1 MBIn this in-depth chat between Allen Firstenberg and Linda Lawton, they dive into the functionalities and potential of Google's newly released Gemini model. From their initial experiences to exciting possibilities for the future, they discuss the Gemini Pro and Gemini Pro Vision models, how to #BuildWithGemini, its focus on both text and images, and speedier and more cohesive responses compared to older models. They also delve into its potential for multi-modal support, unique reasoning capab...
Episode 174 - Live and In Person at Voice+AI 2023
December 08, 2023 16:00 - 37 minutes - 34.6 MBJoin Allen Firstenberg and guest host Noble Ackerson, at the Voice and AI 2023 conference. They discuss the growth of AI and how LLM (large language models) are affecting the tech world and delve deep into topics like LangChain, generative AI, and how to optimize AI operations to tackle network latency. There are also plenty of audience questions, exploring the current challenges in AI and potential solutions. 00:03 Introduction and Background of Two Voice Devs 00:31 The Evolution of Voice...
Episode 173 - Thanksgiving Thoughts 2023
November 23, 2023 16:30 - 8 minutes - 8.08 MBJoin Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg on Thanksgiving Day for a sincere heart-to-heart on the highs and lows of their tech industry journey. Expressing their gratitude for their family, friends, and colleagues in the tech industry and beyond, they acknowledge the challenging times faced by many. They call on their viewers to remember how unique and important they are and invite them to express their thoughts and emotions openly by reaching out to them. 00:04 Introduction and Thanksgiving G...
Episode 172 - VoiceFlow Changes and Solutions
November 16, 2023 16:00 - 26 minutes - 23.9 MBMark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg delve into the recent changes made by VoiceFlow. We explore how VoiceFlow, originally a design resource for Alexa Skills and Google Assistant Actions, has evolved and shifted to include chatbot roles and generative AI responses. Highlighted too are the implications of VoiceFlow's decoupling and transition to 'bot logic as a service'. We look at the necessary technical adjustments and solutions required in the aftermath of these changes, and Mark shares how h...
Episode 171 - Ups and Downs of the OpenAI DevDay Roller Coaster
November 10, 2023 16:00 - 39 minutes - 36.5 MBOn this episode, Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg dive deep into the latest announcements by OpenAI. They discuss various developments including the launch of GPTs (collections of prompts and documents with configuration settings), the new text-to-speech model, upcoming GPT-4 Turbo, reproducible outputs, and the introduction of the Assistant API. While they express excitement for what these developments could mean for #VoiceFirst, #ConversationAI, and #GenerativeAI, they also voice concerns...
Episode 170 - At the Hub of MakerSuite and LangChain
November 02, 2023 15:00 - 18 minutes - 16.8 MBAllen and Mark discuss the practical uses and advantages offered by MakerSuite, an API currently available for Google's PaLM #GenerativeAI model. We look at its unique feature that treats prompts like templates, allowing for versatile manipulation of these templates for varying results. We further delve into how it saves these prompts in Google Drive and how this can be linked to LangChain's new hub concept, leading to an effective 'MakerSuite hub.' Finally, we explore if prompts are more li...
Episode 169 - First Thoughts on TypeChat
November 02, 2023 14:42 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBMark and Allen explore TypeChat - a new library from Microsoft that makes prompt engineering for function-like operations in #ConversationalAI easier and more robust. Is this a replacement for Intents? Does it go beyond what we could do with Intent-based systems? Is it lacking something? Let's explore! Learn more: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeChat
Episode 168 - First Thoughts on TypeChat
October 27, 2023 16:30 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBMark and Allen explore TypeChat - a new library from Microsoft that makes prompt engineering for function-like operations in #ConversationalAI easier and more robust. Is this a replacement for Intents? Does it go beyond what we could do with Intent-based systems? Is it lacking something? Let's explore! Learn more: https://github.com/microsoft/TypeChat
Episode 168 - Defining Retrieval Augmented Generation
October 20, 2023 15:00 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBWhat started as a casual conversation between Mark and Allen turned into a brief exploration of what Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) means in the #GenerativeAI and #ConversationalAI world. Toss in some discussion about VoiceFlow and Google's Vertex AI Search and Conversation and we have another dive into the current hot method to bridge the Fuzzy Human / Digital Computer divide.
Episode 167 - What Does Bard Have to Say to Devs?
October 12, 2023 15:00 - 32 minutes - 29.8 MBLast week, before Google's annual hardware event, Allen teased part of his prediction about Google Assistant and Bard. This week, we'll show the full clip of Allen's prediction and see just how close he was. Then Mark and Allen discuss how recent announcements from OpenAI, Amazon Alexa, and Google compare to each other and, more important, what they each mean for developers in a #GenerativeAI, #ConversationalAI, and perhaps even a #VoiceFirst world, and perhaps make a few more predictions an...
Episode 166 - What's Next at Google Cloud Next 2023
October 06, 2023 15:00 - 35 minutes - 32.1 MBThe Google Cloud Next conference is a massive display of the latest technologies and products available from Google Cloud - from AI to Zero-Trust solutions. Unsurprisingly, #MachineLearning was prominent in this years show, so Mark and Allen take a look at some of the biggest #GenerativeAI and #ConversationalAI announcements this year. More info: https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/google-cloud-next/next-2023-wrap-up
Episode 165 - Speaking of LLMs and Alexa...
September 28, 2023 21:00 - 42 minutes - 38.9 MBMark shares the exciting news that Amazon Alexa will soon have a #VocieFirst #ConversationalAI LLM chat mode! While Allen agrees that this is very exciting news, he still has quite a few questions about how #GenerativeAI technology will fit into Alexa skills. We ask the difficult questions and see what answers are currently out there. What do you think about this announcement from Alexa? More info: LLM feature description: https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/20...
Episode 164 - VOICE + AI 2023 Recap
September 26, 2023 15:00 - 37 minutes - 34.1 MBNoble and Allen take a look back at our experiences at this years VOICE + AI conference. What were the big topics being discussed? The amusing moments? And what do we want to see next year? #GenerativeAI #ConversationalAI #VoiceFirst
Episode 163 - Using Google's MakerSuite PaLM API for Analytics
September 13, 2023 15:00 - 43 minutes - 40.2 MBAllen and guest host Linda have a wide ranging conversation, from Linda's career path and her experiences as a Google Developer Expert for Google Analytics, to how she leveraged that knowledge while trying out something new with Google's #GenerativeAI tool, MakerSuite and the PaLM API. We take a close look at how developers can use prompts (more than one!) to help turn a user's request into actionable data structures that feed into an API and get results. More from Linda: https://LindaLawt...
Episode 162 - Previewing Voice+AI 2023
September 01, 2023 15:00 - 27 minutes - 25.3 MBWe're just days away from the annual VOICE+AI conference, hosted this year in Washington, DC. Both Allen and Noble will be speaking (and hosting a live and in person recording of a future episode!), so we'll give a little preview of what you can hear if you're attending.
Episode 161 - LangChain JS + Matching Engine = ?
August 24, 2023 15:00 - 26 minutes - 24.5 MBAllen and Mark revisit a conversation from episode 146 where they discovered Google had a Vector Database. Now, several months later, Allen has done some work with the Google Cloud Vertex AI Matching Engine and incorporated it into LangChain JS. We discuss why this is important, and how it fits into the overall landscape of LLMs and MLs today. (And Allen has a little announcement towards the end.) More info: * Matching Engine: https://cloud.google.com/vertex-ai/docs/matching-engine/overvie...
Episode 160 - So You Downloaded an LLM. Now what?
August 17, 2023 15:00 - 42 minutes - 39.2 MBThis seems like an easy question, right? If you want to do #ConversationalAI or #GenerativeAI on your own machine with a model such as Llama 2, you can just download the model and... well... then what? This is the question posed to guest host Noble Ackerson - and the answer was both more complicated and simpler than Allen could imagine!
Episode 159 - What's New With APL 2023.2?
August 10, 2023 15:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBAmazon has made some changes to the Alexa Presentation Language, dubbing this version 2023.2, and Allen is a bit confused about what these updates bring. Mark, however, clarifies what's new, how it relates to what was previously available, and why some users can benefit from this latest APL release.
Episode 158 - Picture an Embedding, If You Will
August 03, 2023 15:00 - 38 minutes - 35.4 MBOne of the neat features we've seen come out of the #GenerativeAI and #ConversationalAI explosion recently has been the attention being paid to text embeddings and how they can be used to radically change how we index and search for things. Allen, however, has recently been working with an image embedding model from Google, including incorporating it into LangChain JS. Mark asks about what that process was like, what this new model lets us do, and starts to explore some of the potential of t...
Episode 157 - Three Years... and Still Going!
July 27, 2023 15:00 - 17 minutes - 16.2 MBThree years of Two Voice Devs! There's no doubt that the #VoiceFirst industry has changed over that time, with the rise of #GenerativeAI and #ConversationalAI taking the world by storm. Mark and Allen look back at how the show has evolved over this time, and why we hope you'll be joining us as we continue forward on our journey!
Episode 156 - Go with the Dialogflow CX Flow
July 20, 2023 15:00 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBGuest Host Xavier Portilla returns to chat with Allen about some of the latest additions to Dialogflow CX. New system functions make some of the processing you can do on inputs easier and faster, while prebuilt flows and flow scoped parameters make it easier to have clearly defined, and reusable, components in your conversation design. More info: https://cloud.google.com/dialogflow/docs/release-notes#July_05_2023
Episode 155 - New Alexa Slot Type is Wild!
July 13, 2023 15:00 - 14 minutes - 13.1 MBGuest host Xavier Portilla joins Allen to take a look at a new slot type that the Alexa team has in public beta. How can this new type be used? How does it differ from previous slot types? And what is a slot type anyway?
Episode 154 - The Philosophical Developer
July 06, 2023 21:00 - 34 minutes - 31.6 MBGuest Host Leslie Pound joins Allen to discuss her perspective on software development and #GenerativeAI and how, rather than trying to translate our fuzzy side, developers should think about how it helps us be more aware of how users are seeking to be more inspired or creative.
Episode 153 - Between Fuzzy and Discrete With LLMs
June 29, 2023 21:00 - 32 minutes - 29.5 MBNoble Ackerson returns to discuss about a recent presentation that Allen made to the Google Developer Group NYC chapter where he illustrates how #GenerativeAI can be used as a bridge between the discrete nature of computers and the "fuzzy" nature of humans. He and Noble discuss how Large Language Models, such as OpenAI and Google's PaLM 2, along with libraries like LangChain become a powerful tool in every developer's toolbox.
Episdoe 152 - What's the Intent of OpenAI Functions?
June 27, 2023 21:00 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBAllen is joined by Noble Ackerson to discuss the latest feature that OpenAI has included with it's GPT models. Functions provide a well defined way for developers to turn unstructured human input to a more structured format that can be processed by your code or using a library such as LangChain. We take a look at both how they can be used, but some of the open questions that remain about their use. More info: - https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/gpt/function-calling
Episode 151 - Requiem for Conversational Actions
June 15, 2023 15:00 - 37 minutes - 34.5 MBThis week, Google completed the "sunset" of Conversational Actions for the Google Assistant. Mark and Allen discuss the ups and downs of Actions on Google, how it fit into the #VoiceFirst landscape, and what may come next.
Episode 150 - Another Look Backwards and Forwards
June 08, 2023 15:00 - 25 minutes - 23.4 MBAnother milestone episode! Mark and Allen take advantage of the event to look back at our predictions from episode 100, look back at how #VoiceFirst development has changed over the past 50 episodes (and several years), and look forward to what we'll be talking about in the next 50 episodes.