"Amazon’s Plan For Alexa to Mimic Anyone’s Voice Raises Fears it Will be Used For Deepfakes And Scams"
Amazon is developing new technology for its voice assistant Alexa, which will be able to mimic any human's voice, dead or alive, using less than a minute of recorded audio. At a conference in Las Vegas, Amazon's senior vice president and head scientist Rohit Prasad stated that the feature could be used to help memorialize a deceased family member. Prasad demonstrated the feature at the conference and said, "Alexa, can Grandma finish reading me the Wizard of Oz?" Alexa then confirmed the request with its default, robotic voice, then immediately switched to the grandmother's humanlike, soft, and kind tone. After the demonstration, he stated, "while A.I. can't eliminate that pain of loss, it can definitely make the memories last." However, despite the uplifting emotional nature of the presentation, the new capability quickly received pushback. More than as a means for emotional connection, many people saw voice mimicry as an ideal tool for deepfakes, criminal scams, and other nefarious ends. Damien P. Williams, a Ph.D. researcher in values, algorithms, and bias, stated that scammers might be able to use the new technology for their benefit. Amazon did not release when the new feature will be available.