Amazon unveils new machine-learning services, stepping up the competition with cloud-computing rivals

Amazon Web Services unveiled its latest wares in the cloud-computing arms race here on Wednesday, deploying a suite of services designed to let software developers take advantage of artificial intelligence capabilities without first getting a Ph.D. Andy Jassy, chief executive of the online retailer's cloud-computing unit, announced more than a dozen new services, including software that translates and transcribes speech, analyzes videos and gives developers a leg up in building their own tools. He was speaking in a keynote Wednesday morning at AWS's sixth annual re:Invent conference. "The hype and the hope here is tremendous," Jassy said of machine learning, the set of services that helps algorithms improve with experience. Many companies are experimenting with such services, he said, "yet I would argue it's still very early." Jassy's unit, Amazon's most profitable division, grew up by offering bite-sized, simple services: storage and computing power, at first, and later, database tools and other on-demand versions of existing business software.