Amazon Puts Celebrity Voices On Mute For Alexa Devices

Suppose you’ve gotten used to Samuel L. Jackson reading the weather to you in the morning. In that case, you might have to get reacquainted with mornings without the actor, as Amazon has announced that it’s halting the celebrity voice function from its Alexa devices.
 
The option was first introduced in 2019, with Jackson being the first on the roster to have his voice installed for US$0.99. Over time, the cost increased to $4.99, and Amazon added other famous individuals such as Shaquille O’Neal and Melissa McCarthy. Their voices were mainly limited to telling you information on simple requests such as reading out shopping lists, reminders, or skills. 
 
In an email to Gizmodo, the e-commerce and tech giant said it was “winding down” the experience, and customers could have the voices for a limited time before they are effectively pulled from the system. Those who had purchased Jackson’s version were notified in December of last year that the feature was being removed on June 7, 2023. Those with O’Neal’s and McCarthy’s variation will only become unavailable on September 30, 2023.
 
Amazon did not explicitly state why it was removing the feature, nor if it will be giving a refund to those who have bought it. Although, a report from Insider detailed leaked documents that hinted at the fact that the company was turning its eyes toward its own version of ChatGPT. If so, introducing an artificially-intelligent assistant could take over many tasks, such as videos and audio.
 
Having AI work with voices linked to such public figures may have been too risky, especially in an age where songs and other audio are being generated from famous people’s voices without their consent.
 
Much of that remains conjecture, and there is no official word if a ChatGPT rival will be saddling up to Alexa or any of its other devices. Until then, users will have to forgo having O’Neal remind them to buy milk or giving out preset advice and settle for the preset voices instead.
 
 
 
[via Gizmodo and TechHive, Photo 85366843 © Amber Mcging | Dreamstime.com]