Amazon Alexa+ Goes Potty Mouth With New Adults-Only Mode
Amazon is letting Alexa off the leash with a new, sassy adults-only mode, whereby the AI assistant will dole out witty sarcasm and mild profanity. Part of us are thinking this might be an early April Fool's joke, but the other part also hopes this catches on with Apple and Google, too.
Those of you with Alexa+ subscriptions will now see the voice assistant available with a new personality style. While Brief, Chill, and Sweet modes cater to somewhat predictable conversational moods, ranging from no-nonsense efficiency to cheerleader-style enthusiasm, Sassy is built for users who want their AI to talk back with some attitude.
Those of you with Alexa+ subscriptions will now see the voice assistant available with a new personality style. While Brief, Chill, and Sweet modes cater to somewhat predictable conversational moods, ranging from no-nonsense efficiency to cheerleader-style enthusiasm, Sassy is built for users who want their AI to talk back with some attitude.
Amazon describes the style as a combination of "razor-sharp wit, playful sarcasm, and occasional censored profanity" intended to make the assistant feel less like a dull utility and more like an interesting agent. In practice, this means Alexa might toss in a veiled insult or respond to a basic shopping request with a a smart remark.
Because Alexa now uses words like "hell" or "damn" and occasionally drops bleeped-out "F-bombs," the feature is a clear departure from Amazon's typical family-friendly behavior. Despite the edge though, Amazon is maintaining clear guardrails whereby Alexa will avoid NSFW content, explicit sexual themes, personal attacks, and hate speech. See Sassy mode as more of a PG-13 sitcom that won't necessarily give grandma a heart attack, rather than an R-Rated movie.
Amazon developed these personalities using five related dimensions: expressiveness, emotional openness, formality, directness, and humor. With this move, Amazon is attempting to avoid the sterility of AI conversations. No doubt, even with these personas (especially Sassy), there will be users who'll find them off-putting, while others will find the cynicism refreshing.
These styles are currently available for Alexa+ customers (free for Prime members or $19.99/month for others) in the U.S., with each personality option requiring specific device-level activation. Only time will tell how well customers will take to their Alexa-enabled fridges criticizing them for their food choices or cussing them out for leaving the front smart door unlocked, but we suspect many users will enjoy the break in the monotony.
