Amazon is revamping its Ring video doorbell and camera subscription service.
The new service, called Ring Home Premium, includes features like 24/7 recording and AI-powered video search, and starts at $19.99 per month when it launches in the U.S. on November 5. A cheaper tier of Ring Home is bundled with it. It has basic functionality, but it doesn't have 24/7 recording or upgraded search.
Ring's subscription shakeup comes as the Amazon subsidiary takes off under new CEO Liz Hamlen, a former Microsoft executive. Ring is now the No. 2 seller of security systems in the U.S., according to research firm Parks Associates, and in May, six years after Amazon acquired the company for $1 billion, Hamlen told Bloomberg: He said the company had recently become profitable.
According to Amazon, one of the standout features of Ring Home Premium is Smart Video Search, which helps users find specific moments in recorded video footage. Smart Video Search, available in public beta to select Ring customers starting today, lets you pinpoint notable moments by typing a query into the Ring app.
“Search for 'raccoon in the backyard last night' and you may find the answer to why your trash can was overturned,” Eric Kuhn, Amazon's general manager of the Ring experience, said in a blog post shared with TechCrunch. he wrote in a blog post shared with TechCrunch. If you search for “driveway bike,” you might find an adorable video of an older child teaching a younger child how to ride a bike. ”
Image credit: Amazon
Initially, smart video search will be limited to search queries for animals, places, luggage, people, time, vehicles, weather, and activities (jumping, running, playing, riding, etc.). Amazon said it has put safeguards in place to block searches for potentially offensive or harmful content and will fine-tune its search capabilities in the future.
Amazon declined to say what steps, if any, it has taken to mitigate potential bias in the AI models that power smart video search.
A study published in August by MIT found that commercial models such as OpenAI's GPT-4 were more likely to recommend calling the police when shown Ring videos shot in minority communities. did. The study also found that when analyzing footage from majority-white neighborhoods, models were less likely to use terms like “lot casing” or “burglary tools” to describe the scene.
Image credit: Amazon
“Ring is a leader in providing privacy features to its customers and is also committed to developing responsible AI,” Kuhn wrote. “We have a long history of listening to and learning from our customers.”
The launch of smart video search comes ahead of Google's promised AI updates to its Nest cameras and doorbells, which will bring detailed captions for camera footage and similar natural language search capabilities.