Alexa will use one-minute voice clips to create high-quality and longer voice clips aided by AI
The feature requires at least one minute of audio from the source, which Prasad claims can offer decent audio output. Alexa would effectively synthesize the audio clips provided by the user and turn them into lengthier speech, TechCrunch reports (via Gizmodo). Prasad said the company “required inventions” to develop a high-quality audio clip with only a minute of voice data. “The way we made it happen is by framing the problem as a voice conversion task and not a speech generation path. We are unquestionably living in the golden era of AI, where our dreams and science fictions are becoming a reality,” he added. We’re unsure if this feature could be used negatively, maybe in the form of a cloned voice to imitate another person. Synthesizing the voice of a dead loved one is not something that everybody wants. But as is the case with technology, there are no limits on innovation. This can often lead to features or products that are downright creepy.
The feature will almost certainly be opt-in, considering the level of data sharing involved
Since there’s no release timeline, it’s safe to assume that the feature will not be available anytime soon. Moreover, considering the kind of data sharing involved, it would require interested users to opt in. So customers should be able to ignore this if they don’t want to bring up memories of deceased people.