From Amazon has announced plans for a generative version of the AI of AlexaWe were Concerned about user confidentiality. With Alexa + Deployment has Amazon Echo devices In the coming weeks, we obtain a clearer view of the confidentiality concessions that people will have to make to maximize the use of the AI voice assistant and avoid the brick functionalities of the devices already purchased.
In an email sent to customers today, Amazon said that Echo users could no longer define their devices to process Alexa requests locally and, therefore, avoid sending voice recordings to the Amazon cloud. Amazon apparently sent e-mail to users with “not sending voice records” activated on their echo. From March 28, the recordings of each order spoken at Alexa living in Echo speakers and smart screens will be automatically sent to Amazon and treated in the cloud.
Tending to rationalize the change, Amazon’s email said: “While we continue to extend Alexa’s capacities with AI generating functionalities that are based on the treatment of the secure cloud of Amazon, we decided to no longer take care of this functionality.”
One of the most marketed features of Alexa + is its most advanced capacity to recognize that speaks to it, a functionality known as Alexa Voice ID. To adapt to this functionality, Amazon eliminates a capacity focused on confidentiality for all Echo users, even those who are not interested in the version based on the subscription of Alexa or who wish to use Alexa + but not its ability to recognize different voices.
However, there are many reasons why people do not want Amazon to receive recordings of what they say to their personal apparatus. On the one hand, the idea that a conglomerate can listen to personal requests made in your home is simply disturbing.
In addition, Amazon previously managed the Alexa vocal recordings. In 2023, Amazon agreed to pay $ 25 million In civil penalties on the revelation that he stored children’s interaction recordings with Alexa forever. Adults did not feel correctly informed of the Amazon either Inclination to keep the Alexa recordings Except did not encourage itself not to do so before 2019, five years after the release of the first echo.
If this is not enough to dissuade you from sharing vocal recordings with Amazon, note that the company allowed Employees to listen to Alexa Voice Recordings. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that Amazon employees listened to up to 1,000 audio samples during their nine -hours. Amazon said It allows employees to listen to the Alexa vocal recordings to form its voice recognition and its systems of understanding natural language.
Other reasons why people can hesitate to trust Amazon with personal voice samples include the previous use of Alexa Voice Recordings in criminal trials and Amazon pay a regulation In 2023 with regard to the allegations according to which it allowed “thousands of employees and entrepreneurs to watch video recordings of the private spaces of customers” taken from Ring cameras, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Save records or lose features
Probably trying to get ahead of these concerns, Amazon said in his email today that he will delete by default the Alexa requests for users after processing. However, anyone with their echo device set to “Do’t Save Recordings” will see the vocal identification function of their devices already purchased. Vocal identifier Active Alexa To do things like sharing calendar events specified by the user, reminders, music and more. Previously, Amazon said That “if you choose not to record vocal records, the vocal id may not work.” As of March 28, Broken Voice ID is a guarantee for people who do not leave Amazon to store their voice recordings.
Amazon’s email says:
Amazon obliges Echo users to make some difficult decisions: grant Amazon access to recordings of everything you say to Alexa or stop using an echo; Let Amazon record voice recordings and ask employees to listen to them or lose a set of features to become more advanced and at the heart of the next generation of Alexa.
However, Amazon bets that Alexa + can dig the vocal assistant from a financial pit. Amazon is publicly committed to keeping the free version of Alexa, but Alexa + is considered the last hope of Amazon to keep Alexa alive and make him profitable. Anything that Amazon can do to get people to pay for Alexa, has priority about other Alexa user requirements, including, it seems, confidentiality.
This story originally appeared on Ars Technica.
