Amazon has added artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Dr. Andrew Ng to its board of directors.

Ng, currently managing general partner of AI Fund, was the founding lead of Google’s Google Brain (Deep Learning) Project, and served as chief scientist and vice president of China’s Baidu for three years.

The appointment of Ng to the Amazon board underpins the company’s commitment to generative AI development and the tech’s role as a difference maker among Big Tech firms who are facing pressure to implement solutions.

Microsoft has stolen a lead in the generative AI field thanks to its early investment in ChatGPT firm Open AI which has led to the integration of its tech into its Azure cloud stack.

Amazon meanwhile has seen its once market-leading Alexa voice assistant fall behind the pack due to its relative lack of sophistication when compared to the likes of ChatGPT and other large language models.

In a statement, Amazon said: “Dr. Ng is a global leader in both AI and education. His academic and private sector work developing machine learning and deep learning algorithms and supporting companies developing and adopting AI applications will help to inform the board’s perspective on the opportunities and challenges that AI presents and its transformative social and business potential.

“We seek to have appropriate experience and perspectives at all levels of the company, including our board of directors, and we’re excited to welcome Dr. Ng.”

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