Alexa gets a second, masculine voice and new widgets
Amazon’s language assistant Alexa has so far only had a feminine voice. That can now be changed, albeit initially only in the USA.
Like first the website The Ambient found out, Amazon has quietly introduced a new voice option for Alexa in the USA in the past few days. To activate it, users can simply say “Alexa, change your voice” inside. Or switch them manually within the Amazon app. There is also a suitable new activation word: Ziggy, which is now the fifth activation word alongside Alexa, Amazon, Computer and Echo.
Unlike Apple’s Siri or the Google Assistant, Alexa has not yet had an option to change the voice. Amazon had always avoided asking questions about Alexa’s gender. When asked about her gender, the software itself replies that she is neither male nor female, but an artificial intelligence. However, in the official documentation from Amazon occasionally the pronouns she / she used.
Above all, however, the feminine voice and the name Alexa should contribute significantly to the fact that most users see the assistant as a woman – what has repeatedly led to criticism, because by the fact that one (s) felt a woman gave commands a so-called Gender bias arises.
The new voice and activation option is not the only news when it comes to Alexa. The virtual Alexa Live Event took place on Wednesday, at which the developers from Amazon numerous new functions imagined.
In the future there will be Alexa widgets for devices with screens. Amazon calls them “customizable, clear, self-updating views of skill content”, with the help of which users can check things off a to-do list or activate the functions of a skill without first saying “Alexa” have to.
A new food API is intended to make it easier to order meals via Alexa. With the Find My API on the other hand it should be possible Things like keys, wallets, headphones, remotes, and even pets to find again. Customers can simply say “Alexa, Find my” or “Alexa, Ring my” to find tracked items. In addition to Amazon products, Samsung devices will also be supported soon.
Under the name Shopping Actions, commands such as “Add to cart” or “Buy” are to be integrated and the developers of skills are to receive an affiliate marketing commission of up to 10 percent for product sales through their skills. Of course, this only applies to products offered by Amazon. And the interface Alexa conversations, which is supposed to enable more flexible dialogues within skills, is finally coming to German-speaking regions as a beta version.
