Amazon's Alexa may soon gain a skill some humans even have trouble with: the ability to detect irritation and offer an apology.

Citing an unnamed source, MIT Technology Review on Monday reported that Alexa, the cloud-based voice service that powers Amazon's Echo speaker and other devices, may soon "include better language skills and perhaps the ability to recognize the emotional tenor of your voice."

A source close to the Echo project told the publication that Amazon's researchers, looking to stay ahead of competitors, are exploring some novel, natural-language processing techniques and ways to sense the emotion in a person's voice. "How human affect is recognized and then reflected by [Alexa's] voice will be a key area of [Amazon's] R&D," the source told MIT Technology Review.

Say, for instance, you're asking Alexa for the weather in Greenport, Long Island, and the voice assistant keeps giving you the responses for Greenpoint, Brooklyn. A simple mistake, sure, but one that might just send some people over the edge. Soon, Alexa may be able to recognize it has pissed you off, and say sorry for the mix-up.

Alexa may also soon be able to better understand ambiguous requests, using context clues, the report notes.

"For example, a person who is located in Seattle may be judged more likely to be referring to the Seahawks when he or she asks, 'How are the Hawks doing?'" MIT Technology Review reported.

Going forward, Alexa may be able to remember things you've said in the past, and apply that knowledge to future interactions. "That's one of the active areas," a source told MIT Technology Review. "It is super-vital for the conversation to be magical."

Alexa has been busy mastering new skills as of late. The voice assistant can now track your flights, add events to your Google calendar, dim your lights, keep tabs on your fitness, and pay your bills.