Alexa's New AI Features Come at a Cost: Your Data
The new version of the AI-powered voice assistant Alexa requires more computing power. In the future, this will be provided in Amazon's data centers. As a user, you have no other choice in the matter.
When US tech companies want to expand access to their users' data, alarm bells start ringing, especially in Europe. The use of personal information is met with disapproval by the majority because there are fears that it could be exploited for advertising purposes in particular.
However, in order to get users interested in new services, such as the currently popular AI assistants, local processing of the data is often promised. This was also the case with Alexa. However, Amazon is now backing away from this self-imposed limitation, as Ars Technica reports.
Because of AI: Local Voice Processing is being Discontinued
In an email to customers, the voice assistant operator informs them that the option of exclusively local data usage on Echo devices and smart displays will no longer be supported. However, this only worked with the Echo Dot (4th Gen), Echo Show 10 and Echo Show 15 models if the language settings were set to English. The change is explained by the repositioning of Alexa, which has been in the works for some time. The voice assistant follows competitors such as Copilot and is to offer new functions supported by artificial intelligence, which will be offered in full in the future as Alexa+ in a subscription model.
Amazon apparently placed great importance on improved recognition of individual users based on their speech with the help of Alexa Voice ID. In future, the service will be permanently supported by computing power from the Amazon cloud. Consent to the associated transfer of personal data is unavoidable.
Anyone who refuses to do so will no longer be able to use the devices in their current form. This also applies if there is no interest in Alexa+ or even just improved voice recognition. The service will also no longer be supported locally without consent and will, therefore, be switched off.
The new guidelines will be introduced from March 28. Those who do not agree will also have to accept further restrictions. The user-specific sharing of calendar entries, appointment reminders, music, etc., is also linked to Voice ID.
Amazon is Listening In
Many users may feel uneasy at the idea that all voice data picked up by Alexa is analyzed on Amazon servers. Of course, the company emphasizes that it respects user privacy. Recording and processing of human voices only begins when Alexa hears the wake word. But recognition is not always reliable; similar-sounding words can activate Alexa unintentionally. After all, this may include every conversation, no matter how private, within your own four walls. The company explains that the data is only used to process the voice and is then deleted. The recordings are sent encrypted to Amazon's cloud servers, and the data storage required for processing is also secured. But that's something you should expect in 2025.
However, Amazon is not necessarily known for its sensitive handling of Alexa data. In 2023, for example, the company was fined 25 million dollars for failing to delete voice recordings of children and geodata.
Source: arstechnica.com
