Amazon has admitted that employees listen to customer voice recordings from Echo and other Alexa-enabled smart speakers. The online retail giant said its staff "reviewed" a sample of Alexa voice assistant conversations in order to improve speech recognition. "This information helps us train our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, so Alexa can better understand your requests, and ensure the service works well for everyone," Amazon said in a statement. We'll tell you what's true. You can form your own view.

Amazon has launched a new robot delivery service in the US using a six wheeled machine that is "the size of a small cooler". The Amazon Scout uses self-driving technology to navigate through neighbourhoods to deliver packages to Amazon Prime customers, though its initial roll out is limited. The first deliveries are taking place in Snohomish County, just to the north of Amazon's headquarters in Seattle, Washington. Deliveries will be limited to daylight hours between Monday and Friday amd only six of the Scout delivery robots will be deployed at first. Each will also be accompanied by an Amazon employee to ensure they can safely navigate around any pedestrians or pets it might come across.

Amazon has developed a piece of wearable technology for its workers that will protect them from robot-related accidents. The Robotic Tech Vest is designed for Amazon employees working in warehouse fulfilment centres alongside autonomous robots. Featuring built-in sensors, the electronic belt provides warning alerts to nearby robots to inform them of a worker's presence. Its deployment across more than 25 Amazon sites follows incidents in which workers were injured as a result of a robot's actions. In December, 24 Amazon workers at a warehouse in New Jersey were hospitalised after a robot reportedly punctured a can of bear repellent.

Amazon Echo devices were hit by a major outage on Christmas Day after new owners reported issues with the smart home speaker. Users in the UK and across Europe took to social media to complain of difficulties in setting up the Alexa voice assistant, with some suggesting that the large number of new owners attempting to connect. "Good luck to everyone who was delighted to receive their Amazon Echo this morning," one person wrote on Twitter. "Amazon has been a victim of its own success. Imagine the fun that new owners have been experiencing this morning, unsure as to why their new gadget isn't working."

A festive update for the Amazon Echo has enabled a brand new set of Christmas features for its Alexa voice assistant. Owners can ask the smart speaker to sing a Christmas carol, tell a Christmas story, or even find out if Alexa believes in Santa Claus. A number of other Alexa Skills available for download include Christmas Radio, Christmas Sounds, and Christmas Countdown - all of which are free to enable. An Alexa Skill from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) allows people to ask their Amazon Echo device for the whereabouts of Santa Claus. "Just try saying'Alexa, where's Santa'," the Skill's description states.

Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, N.J., were sickened on Wednesday after an automated machine punctured a can of bear repellent. The warehouse is seen here in June. Workers at an Amazon fulfillment center in Robbinsville, N.J., were sickened on Wednesday after an automated machine punctured a can of bear repellent. The warehouse is seen here in June. Twenty-four workers at an Amazon warehouse in New Jersey were taken to area hospitals after being exposed to bear repellent on Wednesday morning, when a robot punctured a can of the aerosol spray. One woman was reported to have been critically injured in the incident, which caused at least 54 workers to have difficulty breathing, and burning throats and eyes, NJ.com reports.