‘Dr Alexa will see you now’

SMART speakers will soon be able to tell if people are sick.

And Amazon’s electronic personal assistant Alexa will also know if you’re going through a difficult break-up.

The US giant says it can detect “extractable emotions” such as joy, anger, sorrow or stress from the sound of our voices.

After a diagnosis based on voice tones, Alexa will recommend actions such as ordering tissues or cough syrup to help you recover. Amazon has patented the technology which it says can tell if the user has an “abnormal physical or emotional condition” based on audio snippets.

One example shows a customer complaining he is hungry while coughing, prompting the digital assistant to suggest a recipe for chicken soup.

Alexa then suggests ordering in cough drops using Amazon’s one-hour service.

Other suggestions include a song suggestion to lighten the mood and adverts for other products designed to improve people’s moods.

Privacy campaigners fear the data is taken before users use the “wake word” to boot up the machine, when it is not meant to be listening.

Earlier this year a woman in the USA claimed her device secretly recorded a private conversation between her and her husband before sending it to a friend.

An Amazon spokesman said at the time: “Amazon takes privacy very seriously.”

The Star Says: Page 6