Amazon is working on a new Alexa artificial intelligence (AI) technology that will mimic the voices of people, including dead family members, who could still, in some ways, maintain a solid relationship with those they have left behind.
Rohit Prasad, the head scientist for the Alexa AI project, said at the virtual Amazon conference in Las Vegas that they are developing a technology that will bring a companionship role with human attributes to the virtual assistant technology.
The scientist explained that the idea to create the AI was hatched because of the COVID-19 pandemic when so many people lost a loved one or family member. He then demonstrated how this new technology would work by showing a clip of a boy listening to a bedtime story on Alexa and hearing his dead grandmother's voice.
"While A.I. can't eliminate that pain of loss, it can definitely make their memories last," Prasad said, per People.
Ethical Issues and Debate on Deep-Fake AI
Prasad said that his team found a way to create the new Alexa AI with just a minute-long voice clip from the source. He has not offered a timeline for the release, but, ideally, when the technology rolls out, users can simply download an update of their system.
The head scientist also didn't provide more details about the upcoming feature because it may likely trigger questions about consent or ethics, according to NBC News. In recent times, AI technology, as well as deep-fake technology, has been the subject of debate among online communities and developers. Some end-users feel that this could be exploited and abused as big companies capitalize on the grief of the consumers.
As Amazon scales up with its new Alexa AI, its premier competitor, Microsoft, has recently announced it will dial down on its synthetic voice features. Natasha Crampton, Microsoft's head of the ethics division for AI, said they recognize that it may be used to impersonate or deceive listeners.
Reactions to the New Alexa AI
Tamara Cavenett of the Australian Psychological Society said that while reliving some painful memories might help with processing grief, this AI may further push people to limit their engagement with real family members, actual connections, and relationships. She advised approaching "with great caution" because there are not enough studies on the impact of synthetic voices on the human psyche, per ABC Net.
Subbarao Kambhampati of the Arizona State University said that Amazon's demonstration should spark vigilance from the public. He said that if people start getting used to this concept, it will not seem strange in the long run.
Most people on Twitter found the AI demonstration a bit creepy and compared the idea to an episode of "Twilight Zone" or "Black Mirror," two dystopian-centered science fiction shows. Other netizens cannot help but utter, "I hear dead people," in reference to the movie "The Sixth Sense." Still, others said that the concept of bringing back the dead, even if it's just a voice copy, sounds pretty morbid.
