Category: smart speaker
Female-voiced AI assistants reinforce gender bias, claims UN study
AI virtual assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant reinforce gender stereotypes which portray women as “subservient” by relying on female voices, a UN report has said. The UNESCO paper criticised voice-powered digital speakers and devices for making it appear that women are “obliging, docile and eager-to-please helpers, available at the touch of a button…
New rules could require security labels for connected devices
Smart TVs and other connected devices could be made to carry labels telling people how secure they are from cyber attacks, under plans announced by the Government. The labels would be initially introduced on a voluntary basis to help consumers identify which products are secure, before eventually becoming mandatory. Under the plans, announced by digital…
Gov.UK trials service on smart speakers
Information about about government services from Gov.UK - such as what is the minimum wage and when can I retire - is to become available via smart speakers including the Amazon Echo and Google Home. The Government Digital Service has created a trial project that will enable information from gov.uk to be accessed by asking…
Amazon confirms it does ‘listen to what users say to Alexa’ for training purposes
I don't think it will come as a great surprise to many of us. But Amazon has confirmed its staff do listen to recordings of customer interactions with voice-based assistant Alexa to 'help train the artificial intelligence’s responses'. The tech giant uses review teams around the world to analyse and annotate some recordings gathered from…
Alexa reveals Idris Elba is her celebrity Valentine’s Day crush
Digital voice-powered assistant Alexa has revealed that Luther actor Idris Elba is her celebrity crush, ahead of Valentine’s Day tomorrow. Alexa makes the confession to users whenever asked, “Alexa, who is your celebrity crush?” “I think Idris Elba and I would pair up quite nicely,” Alexa responds. “He’s a DJ, and I play music for…
Harrison Ford pokes fun at ‘failed’ Amazon Alexa devices in Super Bowl ad
Harrison Ford and Forest Whitaker are among the famous faces appearing in Amazon’s 'Not Everything Makes the Cut' Super Bowl advert that takes a light-hearted look at “rejected” Alexa-enabled devices. Amazon’s voice assistant has become one of the most commonly used in the world, with the tech giant’s own Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers the market…
Quarter of Brits struggle to get gadgets to work, reckons Which?
A quarter of British adults struggle to get their new gadgets to work. New research from Which? shows that just over one in four (27%) adults who received a tech gift this year at Christmas had problems using their gift. And just over in four (28%) of us were still trying to get their tech up…
CES 2019: Google Assistant gets smarter with new interpretation and navigation tools
Google Assistant will soon be able to automatically check users into flights and reply to text messages from user voice commands, the tech giant has announced. The technology giant’s artificial intelligence-based virtual assistant is also to get an interpreter mode to help conduct conversations in dozen of languages using both audio and visual cues, Google…
Half of us now using smart speakers, Accenture study finds
Half of online consumers globally now use digital voice assistants, or smart speakers, with emerging markets leading the way in adoption. This comes after Amazon announced that it had been selling out of its popular digital voice assistant over the festive period and that 100m devices have now been sold around the world Standalone voice assistants – or…
Amazon’s Alexa can now help NFL newbies understand the American sport
Image: Press Association Anyone new to NFL need not watch in confusion, as an Alexa skill has been added to provide insight into one of America’s favourite sports. For those who have wondered what “move the chains” means or how tall quarterback Aaron Rodgers is, the Rookie’s Guide to the…
