After years of secrecy, the voice of Amazon Alexa may have been revealed

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Amazon’s Alexa has become a familiar voice for millions of people. People all over the world recognize the warm, calming voice that comes from Amazon’s digital assistant. The AI’s human origin has long been a mystery, but thanks to a new book from Brad Stone, Alexa’s voice may have been found.

According to The Verge, Brad Stone is a journalist who has been working on a book called Amazon Unbound, which is a deep dive into the company as a whole. An excerpt can be found here that explains who Brad Stone thinks is the voice of Alexa. His revelation points to Nina Rolle, a voiceover artist from Boulder, Colorado.

There has been no confirmation of whether or not Rolle is indeed the voice of Alexa. Stone recounts in his book that Rolle said she “wasn’t allowed” to talk to him about the subject, and that Amazon declined to comment on the subject. This secrecy is something that Amazon is known for, Stone claimed, saying, “Characteristically secretive, Amazon has never revealed the name of the voice artist behind Alexa.”

Rolle’s website contains many examples of her past voiceover work. The examples definitely resemble Alexa’s calm, soothing demeanor. The ad above for Cherry Creek North is some of her work, which is very difficult to differentiate from an Amazon Alexa device.

Though we can definitely hear the similarities between Rolle’s voice and Amazon’s Alexa, there’s no way to guarantee that Rolle’s voice is the one used. The voice has been synthesized and infused with AI technology that would make it impossible to confirm Rolle’s involvement without actual word from Amazon itself, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.

Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Amazon has completely nuked every product from several popular brands on the platform
• Amazon drivers are being told to ignore safety standards and drive recklessly
• Blue Origin will launch its first tourist flight into space on July 20
• Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO of Amazon to focus on other projects