AmazonB次元官网网址檚 Alexa might soon replicate the voice of family members - even if theyB次元官网网址檙e dead.
The capability, unveiled at AmazonB次元官网网址檚 Re:Mars conference in Las Vegas, is in development and would allow the virtual assistant to mimic the voice of a specific person based on a less than a minute of provided recording.
Rohit Prasad, senior vice president and head scientist for Alexa, said at the event Wednesday that the desire behind the feature was to build greater trust in the interactions users have with Alexa by putting more B次元官网网址渉uman attributes of empathy and affect.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭hese attributes have become even more important during the ongoing pandemic when so many of us have lost ones that we love,B次元官网网址� Prasad said. B次元官网网址淲hile AI canB次元官网网址檛 eliminate that pain of loss, it can definitely make their memories last.B次元官网网址�
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In a video played by Amazon at the event, a young child asks B次元官网网址淎lexa, can Grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?B次元官网网址� Alexa then acknowledges the request, and switches to another voice mimicking the childB次元官网网址檚 grandmother. The voice assistant then continues to read the book in that same voice.
To create the feature, Prasad said the company had to learn how to make a B次元官网网址渉igh-quality voiceB次元官网网址� with a shorter recording, opposed to hours of recording in a studio. Amazon did not provide further details about the feature, which is bound to spark more privacy concerns and ethical questions about consent.
AmazonB次元官网网址檚 push comes as competitor Microsoft earlier this week said it was scaling back its synthetic voice offerings and setting stricter guidelines to B次元官网网址渆nsure the active participation of the speakerB次元官网网址� whose voice is recreated. Microsoft said Tuesday it is limiting which customers get to use the service B次元官网网址� while also continuing to highlight acceptable uses such as an interactive Bugs Bunny character at AT&T stores.
B次元官网网址淭his technology has exciting potential in education, accessibility, and entertainment, and yet it is also easy to imagine how it could be used to inappropriately impersonate speakers and deceive listeners,B次元官网网址� said a blog post from Natasha Crampton, who heads MicrosoftB次元官网网址檚 AI ethics division.
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