Alexa should know what user wants and give advice like a trusted friend, its chief scientist says

If you thought Alexa was only there to tell you the weather or who scored in the football, think again. Amazon now envisions its virtual assistant becoming a'trusted adviser and companion', and'anticipating' what we want to do, according to its chief scientist. Speaking at the Web Summit in Lisbon yesterday, Rohit Prasad said: 'If I ask Alexa, what hike should I do? Just like a friend, because it knows me, Alexa should tell me: you should do this hike.' The tech giant is envisioning a home with various sensors in each room - from microphones to ultrasound - working in the background, he said.