Amazon just unveiled a new personality type for Alexa+. The “sassy” option is reserved for adults and the company claims it will throw out censored curse words from time to time. Amazon describes this option as a combination of “unfiltered personality” and “razor-sharp wit, playful sarcasm and occasional censored profanity.”
We aren’t yet sure how the chatbot handles the censoring. Does it use a garden variety bleep or a replacement word like fudge or something? I managed to get it to say “damn” and “hell”, but couldn’t force anything more profane than that.
In any event, adult users have to jump through a couple of hoops to activate this mode. It won’t work if there’s an enabled Amazon Kids profile on the account and it requires additional security checks, like face scans. The company also warns people upon being selected that the new tone could contain “mature subject matter.” I’m more afraid of the bot using “clever comebacks” to absolutely shred my buying habits. Yes, I buy bagged popcorn when I have plenty of uncooked kernels in the pantry. I’m working on it.
This is still Alexa+, despite the ability to drop colorful language every now and again. It’s not an adult AI companion like the anime-inspired weirdness Grok recently trotted out or whatever erotica-infused nonsense OpenAI has been working on. Also, Amazon says the bot won’t get involved with hate speech, illegal activities, personal attacks or anything that could cause harm.
This is just the latest personality type that the company has introduced for the chatbot. Users can also choose from sweet, brief or chill, with the last one resembling a surfer archetype. Alexa+ is an updated version of the company’s long-standing chatbot that prioritizes natural-sounding conversation. It’s fine, more or less, but I still use it primarily for alarms and weather.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/alexa-can-now-swear-thanks-to-a-new-personality-style-172106310.html?src=rss
