Samuel L. Jackson is playing a brand new role: Alexa (sort of)

By Shannon Miller  |  December 13, 2019 | 10:29pm
Aux Features Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson is playing a brand new role: Alexa (sort of)
Photo: Frazer Harrison

Thanks to a few well-known personalities, Alexa is finally getting a vacation. Per The Verge, Amazon has launched its new Celebrity Voice Program (originally announced in September), which allows users to hear a few distinctive voices through their Echo Dots. For less than a dollar, Jackson can inform you of the weather, play your favorite DaBaby song, and more. If you have a lot of work to avoid, you can procrastinate by asking Jackson questions about his career and interests. He’ll also play rock, paper, scissors, if you’re looking for a delightful way to blatantly waste time.

To be clear, the Hollywood icon isn’t replacing Alexa’s main voice. She’s still available to handle all the functions that aren’t supported by the new program, such as reminders, list, and all Amazon shopping needs. In fact, you actually have to go through the assistant with a polite “Alexa, ask Samuel L. Jackson,” followed by whatever you need. From there, Jackson will try his best to assist you, within reason.

The program includes a mix of prerecorded phrases and a neural text-to-speech model, which mimics natural speech patterns enough so that your experience isn’t reliant on just a handful of phrases. And for those wondering: Yes, there are clean and properly profane modes to fit all familial needs.

 
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