Can I Register A Used Alexa?

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More likely than not, you've asked a virtual banana to Google something for you; accommodate your music; or add an appointment to your in-telephone calendar. From Apple'south Siri to the ever-handy Google Assistant, these AI helpers are hither to lend a (nonexistent) hand. These days, i of the most popular virtual assistants is Amazon's Alexa, which is at present in millions of homes across the globe.

When it comes to setting timers and alarms, borer into your calm security cameras, reordering your Amazon staples or emceeing your conditioning playlist, Alexa is more than adept. But how did this at present-ubiquitous virtual banana come up to be? And, perhaps more pressingly, are smart dwelling house features similar Alexa safe?

What Is Amazon'south Alexa?

Equally mentioned earlier, intelligent virtual assistants — or artificial intelligence (A.I.) assistants — are commonplace these days. Using an A.I. system, these assistants, like Siri or Google Assistant, emulate man interactions and complete tasks for us. First introduced in 2014, Alexa is Amazon's foray into the virtual assistant realm. While Apple's Siri is known for being in the palm of your hand a la your iPhone, Amazon's Alexa — and Alexa Voice Services (AVS) — can be found in an abundance of the company's smart tech products, including various iterations of the Amazon Echo every bit well as the Amazon Fire TV.

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But the smart dwelling functionality doesn't cease with your devices. In fact, Alexa-enabled lite switches, security cameras, speakers, lamps, thermostats, and soundbars are used by millions. Then, what can Alexa practise to help? The possibilities are (almost) endless, particularly considering that the Alexa Skill Kit allows you to mold the virtual assistant's features to your particular lifestyle needs.

Some of the AI's most popular features include:

Finding recipes
Reading to you
Order takeout
Giving advice
Answering questions
Solving math problems
Translating words
Tracking Amazon packages
Providing news updates
Reading your emails
Calling or messaging contacts, no typing needed
Setting upwards reminders, timers and alarms
Enabling video cameras for security purposes
Integrating with smart-home tech, including lights, speakers, alarms and more
Shopping (and re-ordering) products online
Accessing music, videos and other content

Who Is the Vocalism of Alexa?

And so, why did Amazon call its virtual assistant Alexa? According to the visitor, information technology'south a tribute to the Library of Alexandria, which, centuries agone, was intended to concord the world'due south noesis. Much like this ancient library, Alexa collects information — and learns. An added bonus? The letter "X" isn't all that common in the English language, which makes things a little less disruptive since saying, "Alexa" really "wakes upwardly" your virtual assistant.

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Of grade, if yous know an Alexa, you tin can change that "wake discussion" to something less commonplace. All the same, that moniker is what the virtual assistant is known equally — and information technology's the default name. So, is there a voice actor behind Amazon's virtual banana? According to Alexa'south creator, Amazon exec Toni Reid, the virtual banana's voice actually comes from text-to-speech technology. That is, in that location isn't a existent person behind that default Alexa voice.

Nonetheless, the voice has been coded female — or, in other words, voice that expresses what are typically thought of in western society as feminine traits. This choice certainly underlines the gender bias that has seeped into A.I. "An algorithm is an opinion expressed in code," Ivana Bartoletti, founder of the networking group Women Leading in A.I., told The Guardian. "If information technology'due south generally men developing the algorithm, then of course the results volition be biased… Yous're teaching the auto how to make a decision." All of this to say, intelligent voice assistants are doing the not-then-smart matter of continuing to normalize the subservience of women, peculiarly since the majority of our exchanges with these administration boils down to commands.

While other virtual assistants, like Siri and Google Assistant, allow you to change the default voice and accents, Amazon has taken things a step further. Recently, the visitor has employed celebrities, like Avengers star Samuel 50. Jackson, to lend their voices to the technology. Using a "'neural text-to-oral communication' engine to mimic celebrities' voices on Alexa-powered devices," Amazon volition "use recordings the stars provide as the footing for other estimator-generated utterances" (via BBC). In other words, if you've e'er wanted Jackson to "roast you lot" or quote Lurid Fiction, that's now a possibility. In the virtually time to come, Amazon plans to add together more celeb voices to Alexa'south roster.

Is Amazon's Virtual Assistant Safe?

As with any new applied science, Alexa has been met with some mistrust and incertitude. (After all, we all remember Disney Channel's Smart House, right?) Still, that hasn't deterred millions from purchasing an Alexa-powered device. In fact, according to NBC News, an impressive "one-quarter of American households at present take an Amazon Echo powered by Alexa."

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In 2018, a Portland family raised some serious concerns well-nigh Alexa and their personal security. "My husband and I would joke and say I'd bet these devices are listening to what we're maxim," Danielle [redacted] told a local news outlet. But that joke evolved into something much more concerning: During a conversation most hardwood floors, someone in the household uttered something that sounded like Alexa, the virtual banana's "wake word." Once activated, the device heard the couple say something virtually sending a bulletin, so it dutifully recorded their conversation and forwarded it to someone on their contact list. Not optimal. Danielle chosen the moment "a total privacy invasion," and although it was an hands traceable error, it still gave many would-be Repeat owners pause.

Reportedly, Alexa isn't recording your conversations to spy on you. Instead, the banana is recording for short bursts of time, and then that what you say is sent back to the Amazon reckoner system; this information is and so used to provide you with an respond or assist consummate a task. "Amazon says it keeps our recordings to better products, non to sell them," engineering columnist Geoffrey A. Fowler wrote in The Washington Post — a newspaper owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. "Simply anytime personal information sticks around, it's a risk."

"Alexa is e'er getting smarter, which is only possible by training [the virtual assistant] with voice recordings to better understand requests, provide more accurate responses, and personalize the customer feel," Beatrice Geoffrin, manager of Alexa privacy, said in a argument. Merely is better customer service really worth that invasion of privacy — that supposedly encrypted archive of conversations you've had with Alexa?

Alexa and the Future of A.I.

If y'all've ever wondered what a smart abode of the hereafter will look like, Alexa has made all of those Space Age imaginings feel all the more feasible, instead of only some sci-fi pipe dream. In addition to smart televisions, cameras, home security systems, soundbars, and lighting, Alexa, and other virtual assistants, is entering the world of appliances and cars every bit well.

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Have you ever wanted to speak to your fridge or oven? Alexa will be able to assist with that. Meanwhile, Amazon has as well struck a deal with major auto manufacturers, ensuring that it'due south Each Auto applied science will bring all that virtual assistant convenience and functionality on the road. Without a doubt, Alexa's voice-activated engineering science is here to stay. And the potential of these virtual administration will just keep growing.