Alexa will soon have the ability to speak in a loved one’s voice and a little bit of nostalgia to make you feel nostalgic. Amazon’s annual “re-Mars” conference revealed new updates to the AI device that basically acts as a virtual assistant. According to Amazon, Alexa’s new capabilities will allow for “long-lasting personal relationships”.
If someone asks Alexa to read their grandmother’s story, she will. Alexa can mimic the voice of someone by recording a small amount of their voice, according to Rohit Prasad, Senior Vice President of Alexa AI at Amazon Rohitprasad.
A video of the event shows a young boy asking Alexa to finish reading the “Wizard of Oz” to him.
Prasad stated that Alexa’s ability to communicate with people and be a companion is particularly useful for those who lost loved ones in the pandemic. While AI cannot eliminate the loss pain, it can help to make these relationships last.
Prasad stated that Amazon had to “learn to produce a high quality voice in less than one minute versus hours recording in the studio” to create this feature. The way we made this happen was to frame the problem as a voice conversion task, not as a speech generation path.
Amazon announced that Alexa could adopt the voices and phrases of public figures, such as Samuel L. Jackson. This was done with their consent.
Conversation mode, another update that was announced at the event, allows you to speak with Alexa without having to say “Hey Alexa” every time you want to. Simply say it once and Alexa will continue to respond to your questions.
Prasad stated that Alexa also has human-like reasoning. She can use both the immediate context and the long-term memories she has accumulated through years of experience. If you ask Alexa to remind you of the Super Bowl, she will look up the date and hour, as well as verify that it is in your local time zone. Then she will send you a reminder 10 minutes before the game.
Alexa may also notice that you are unsure of your daily routine and asks you to switch on the lights at the same times every day.
She thinks before she speaks. Prasad stated that if someone tells Alexa that they don’t want to buy flowers for their wives, she will suggest red roses and infer a romantic relationship.
Prasad stated, “We are unquestionably living the golden age of AI, where science fictions and our dreams are becoming a reality.”
Amazon announced that Alexa could adopt the voices and phrases of public figures, such as Samuel L. Jackson, with their permission. This was done by using recordings made by stars as the baseline to generate additional computer-generated phrases.