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Amazon announced a new feature that will allow Alexa to speak in the voices of deceased relatives, friends and other loved ones, according to KTLA.
Speaking at the day two keynote during the company’s annual MARS conference in Las Vegas, Alexa head scientist Rohit Prasad showed a video of Alexa, ostensibly sounding like a boy’s deceased grandmother reading him a book.
“Alexa, can grandma finish reading me ‘The Wizard of Oz’?” the child asks before Alexa goes into the book.
Prasad said one thing that surprises him about Alexa is “the companionship relationship we have with it.”
“These attributes have become even more important in these times of the ongoing pandemic, when so many of us have lost someone we love. While AI can’t eliminate that pain of loss, it can definitely make those memories last.”
Prasad said the voice will enable “lasting personal relationships.”