Amazon previews Alexa capability that synthesizes a person’s voice from less than a minute of audio – GeekWire

LAS VEGAS — A limited video of a youngster asking Alexa to have his grandma study the Wizard of Oz is generating additional than its share of excitement immediately after Amazon discussed that the voice was really a simulation.

To make it materialize, Amazon “had to discover to deliver a higher-high quality voice with considerably less than a minute of recording vs . several hours of recording in a studio,” stated Rohit Prasad, Alexa AI senior vice president and head scientist, during a keynote tackle Wednesday morning at the company’s re:MARS convention in Las Vegas.

Amazon isn’t saying when the functionality could be produced as an Alexa attribute, or what forms of safeguards might accompany a rollout. AI-generated synthesized voices have lifted worries about the prospective for abuse, maybe becoming misused to trick folks into pondering other folks experienced explained something they hadn’t.

A established of “Responsible AI” ideas unveiled this week by Microsoft outlines a collection of safeguards from potential misuse of artificial voices.

Prasad hinted at the fundamental specialized technique employed by Amazon for the capability, expressing that the vital was “framing the dilemma as a voice-conversion process, and not a speech-technology undertaking.”

Introducing the demo, he explained the technological know-how as a way to preserve the recollections of loved types, saying it is component of a developing recognition of the position that Alexa can provide as a companion.

“In this companionship part, human attributes of empathy and have an effect on are important for constructing belief,” he claimed. “These characteristics have become even far more vital in these periods of the ongoing pandemic, when so a lot of of us have dropped anyone we enjoy. What AI simply cannot do away with that discomfort of decline, it can undoubtedly make their recollections last.”

Prasad named it “one of the new abilities we’re doing the job on, which allows long lasting private associations.”