Amazon is discontinuing a privacy feature that allowed Echo users to process Alexa requests locally, which prevented voice recordings from being sent to the cloud. This change will take effect on March 28, 2025, coinciding with the launch of Alexa+, a subscription-based version of the AI assistant. The new version will introduce advanced features, including the ability to recognize individual voices through Alexa Voice ID.
The decision to end local processing has sparked significant privacy concerns among users, especially given Amazon's past issues with handling voice recordings. In 2023, the company faced a $25 million penalty for improperly storing children's voice interactions indefinitely. Amazon has stated that it will delete recordings after processing, but users opting out of recording storage will lose access to the Voice ID feature.
• Amazon discontinues local processing for Echo devices, raising privacy concerns.
• Alexa+ will introduce advanced features but compromise user privacy.
Voice ID is a feature that allows Alexa to recognize individual users' voices, enhancing personalization.
Generative AI refers to algorithms that can create new content, which is integral to Alexa's evolving capabilities.
Cloud processing involves using remote servers to handle data, which Amazon is shifting towards for Alexa's functionalities.
Amazon is a leading technology company that develops AI solutions, including the Alexa voice assistant, which is central to this article.
Isomorphic Labs, the AI drug discovery platform that was spun out of Google's DeepMind in 2021, has raised external capital for the first time. The $600
How to level up your teaching with AI. Discover how to use clones and GPTs in your classroom—personalized AI teaching is the future.
Trump's Third Term? AI already knows how this can be done. A study shows how OpenAI, Grok, DeepSeek & Google outline ways to dismantle U.S. democracy.
Sam Altman today revealed that OpenAI will release an open weight artificial intelligence model in the coming months. "We are excited to release a powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning in the coming months," Altman wrote on X.