Amazon claims it wants to “make memories linger forever,” yet the technology enters a contentious and potentially abusive domain.
Soon, you will be able to use your Alexa device to have a deceased loved one tell you stories, play music, or turn on the lights.
Amazon claims it wants to “preserve memories” and is creating a technique that will allow its assistant to imitate any voice after hearing less than one minute of audio.
Your Alexa may soon be able to imitate your deceased grandmother, a long-lost buddy, or maybe someone from television.
The objective is to “make the memories last” after “so many of us have lost someone we love” because of the pandemic, according to Amazon senior vice president Rohit Prasad.
The news follows a discussion of a Google chatbot, which a developer said was sentient and capable of expressing emotions and thoughts.
Wednesday at a conference in Las Vegas, a video clip depicted a toddler asking Alexa, “Grandma, can you finish reading me The Wizard of Oz?”
Alexa confirmed the command and altered her voice a second later.
She spoke in a calming, less robotic manner, eerily resembling the individual’s grandmother.
However, Amazon’s effort is in an area of technology that has been scrutinized for its possible advantages and disadvantages.
Microsoft Corporation has recently limited the firms that can use their software to parrot sounds.
The intention is to assist individuals with speech impediments or other issues, but some are concerned it might also be used to spread political deepfakes.
Mr. Prasad explained that Amazon’s goal for Alexa is “generalizable intelligence,” or the capacity to adapt to user contexts and pick up new concepts with minimal external input.
He stated that this objective is “not to be confused with the all-knowing, all-capable, super artificial general intelligence” (AGI) that DeepMind and OpenAI are pursuing.
