Amazon’s Alexa Could Soon Mimic The Voice Of Lost Loved Ones For Comfort

What if you woke up one day and started hearing the voice of a long-departed loved one echoing through your house? Surprisingly, Amazon is trying to make that a reality.

The tech giant is developing a system so the Alexa voice assistant can replica anyone’s voice with just a one-minute audio sample.  

Now, you may be wondering why would that be something Amazon was interested in? Its goal, according to senior vice president Rohit Prasad, is to “make memories last,” as was said during a conference in Las Vegas.

The pandemic had a big hand to play in this new development. The unprecedented circumstances have propelled the company to let loved ones live on.

At the same conference, Amazon demonstrated the technology in a video where a child asks Alexa to call on his grandmother to read The Wizard of Oz. A moment later, the smooth and sweet cadence of an older lady sounds through the room as she walks him down that yellow brick road.  

The system may have been more of a showcase of how advanced the software has gotten since its inception, as Alexa had to previously be programmed with hours of recordings before she could speak. Amazon has intended for this new feature to aid in companionship, as it has never more been an issue now since the pandemic hit.  

It was not mentioned when Alexa’s new voice-altering service would be available for consumers. Besides further development, Amazon is treading a thin line between comfort and concern as this new system could potentially be misused when placed in the hands of the wrong person.  

[via TechCrunch and NewsHub, Photo 132847429 © Karsten Neglia | Dreamstime.com]