The next time you ask a question to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant, the answer might come from another Alexa user. From a report: Starting today, Amazon is publicly launching a program called Alexa Answers, which lets anyone field questions asked by users for which Alexa doesn’t already have a response — ones such as: What states surround Illinois? What’s the proper amount of sleep? How many instruments does Stevie Wonder play? How much is in a handle of alcohol?

From then on, when people ask a question, Alexa will speak an answer generated through Alexa Answers, noting that the information is “according to an Amazon customer.” The program launched in a private, invite-only beta for thousands of customers last year after a period of internal testing. Even with that limited group, Amazon says it’s already logged hundreds of thousands of responses, which Alexa has served millions of times. Those numbers will likely shoot upwards now that anyone in the United States can participate. “Our North Star, our overall vision, is we’d love it if Alexa can answer any question people ask her, no matter what the language, where they are, what the device,” says Bill Barton, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa Information. “We’re focused on Alexa as an objective, factual information source with this particular effort.”

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Source: Slashdot – Amazon Will Let Anyone Answer Your Alexa Questions Now