Amazon Is Training Alexa To Mimic The Voice Of Your Deceased Loved Ones
Amazon wants to personalise Alexa's voice! It appears that the company is planning to give its assistant, Alexa the ability to mimic anyone's voice.?
As reported by Reuters, Amazon is working on a system that would let Alexa mimic anyone's voice after hearing less than a minute of any audio. The details were made public by Amazon's Rohit Prasad at a conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
What about your deceased loved ones??
According to Prasad, the goal of this new feature would be to "make the memories last," especially in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, wherein "so many of us have lost someone we love."
Even with such noble intentions, the use of such technology is fraught with contradictions. Just two days ago, Microsoft pulled the plug on AI tools that may be used to mimic voices. The worry? It could be used for deepfake clips, especially with politicians. It may also be used by hackers to blackmail users.
Also read:?Amazon Uses Alexa Voice Data To Target Users With Ads Across The Web: Research
According to Prasad, Amazon's aim for Alexa is "generalisable intelligence." In essence, Amazon wants Alexa to be able to adapt with all user environments and learn new concepts without needing external input. He added how it shouldn't be confused with "the all-knowing, all-capable, uber artificial general intelligence."
During the conference, Amazon displayed how Alexa (that is found in Amazon's Echo devices and Android smartphones) could be used to mimic anybody's voice. "Alexa, can grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?," a child asked Alexa.?Not much later, Alexa's voice became less robotic and more human-like, probably emulating the child's grandmother.
Also read:?Evil AI? Alexa 'Challenges' Child To Touch Live Electric Plug With Metal Coin
What do you think about Amazon's Alexa using your loved ones voice? Let us know in the comments below.?For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.
References
Dastin, J. (2022, June 22). Amazon has a plan to make Alexa mimic anyone¡¯s voice. Reuters.?
