Amazon's Alexa devices are becoming increasingly user-friendly, but the new technology raises privacy concerns.

The company unveiled a significant AI improvement for Alexa, affecting all Echo products since 2014. This software upgrade allows Alexa to have conversations without a wake word. It improves Alexa’s ability to respond quickly, understand user preferences, and manage follow-up questions. Additionally, Alexa can now change its tone based on the topic of the conversation and even share opinions, such as talking about movies that should have won an Oscar. However, the use of AI also raises red flags.

“Conversational AI can be used by malicious actors in a variety of contexts,” Alyssa Devine, founder of Purple Fox Legal and an attorney who works in privacy and AI, told Lifewire in an email interview. “The data collected by conversational AI can be used to create detailed profiles of users that can be sold for advertising or otherwise monetized without the users’ explicit consent. Worse yet, this data can potentially be used by malicious actors to commit fraud or identity theft.”

The updated Alexa has a voice that mirrors human speech and can carry on conversations smoothly without the need for a wake word. With every interaction, it becomes more familiar with its users.