Amazon Alexa Can
Now Mimic the Voice , of a Deceased Relative.
The new feature was unveiled in a demonstration video at the Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas on June 22.
Senior Alexa VP Rohit Prasad did the unveiling.
In the video, a child speaks to Alexa.
Alexa, can Grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?, Alexa Demonstration Video, via CNBC.
Alexa first confirms the child's question with its default voice.
It then switches to a voice that is more human sounding and similar to the child's deceased grandmother.
Prasad stated that the feature is not yet available to the public and continues to be in development.
According to the Alexa team.
“less than a minute of recorded audio” of a person's voice
is all that is needed for the feature to work.
Prasad made it clear that the feature can be used to mimic any voice, .
but he focused on the fact that it could help a family remember someone they've lost.
While AI can’t eliminate that pain of loss, it can definitely make the memories last, Rohit Prasad, Senior VP Alexa Team, via CNBC.
Prasad stated that making Alexa more conversational
is a renewed goal for the technology, .
especially since “so many of us have lost someone we love” due to the pandemic.
A series of new features
have also been added to Alexa