Amazon workers are listening to what you tell Alexa
Tens of millions of people use smart speakers and their voice software to play games, find music or trawl for trivia. Millions more are reluctant to invite the devices and their powerful microphones into their homes out of concern that someone might be listening.
Sometimes, someone is.
Amazon.com Inc. employs thousands of people around the world to help improve the Alexa digital assistant powering its line of Echo speakers. The team listens to voice recordings captured in Echo owners’ homes and offices. The recordings are transcribed, annotated and then fed back into the software as part of an effort to eliminate gaps in Alexa’s understanding of human speech and help it better respond to commands.
The Alexa voice review process, described by seven people who have worked on the program, highlights the often-overlooked human role in training software algorithms.
FILE – In this June 16, 2014, file photo, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos walks onstage for the launch of the new Amazon Fire Phone, in Seattle. Bezos offered a glimpse of his vision for the future during an interview on May 31, 2016, at the Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
FILE – This Aug. 7, 2017, file photo shows an Amazon sign at a store in Hialeah, Fla. Just 20 cities are left standing in the competition for Amazon’s second headquarters and the 50,000 jobs it will bring. Now comes the hard part for the finalists – and for Amazon. Based on the cities that made the cut, and what the company told some of the cities that didn’t, the company will likely scrutinize six key criteria when making its final call. It plans to announce its decision this year. The 20 cities include Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Boston; New York City; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; and Nashville, Tennessee. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz, File)