Amazon Echo virtual assistant causing problems for users named Alexa, Alexis or Alex. ( YouTube/Tech Core )
Amazon’s new Artificial Intelligence-driven home virtual assistant, Amazon Echo, has become a blessing for a lot of its users, but new reports are revealing that some people are getting into humorous predicaments due to the way the device is woken up. Amazon’s AI speaker is programmed to always listen for the word “Alexa” for it to wake up and take commands. For this reason, people who are named Alexa, Alexis or Alex are having a hard time living with the new product.
One such example is a woman who was watching a Canadian TV show, whose main character was named Alexis. During a particular scene, the character was asked to order 12 pints of milk. Amazon’s speaker immediately jumped into action and asked the owner if she wanted to proceed with the order for the 12 pints of milk. Fortunately, the owner was able to cancel the order.
In another example, the father of a family asked his daughter, named Alexa, to grab some water from the kitchen. The virtual assistant then informed the man that there was a Fiji Natural Artesian Water, a pack of 24s, available for $27.27.
Fortunately, Amazon does provide a workaround for the particular problem as users are able to change the wake work from “Alexa” to either “Echo” or “Computer,” the latter being a particularly popular choice for “Star Trek” fans. Users simply have to open the Amazon Alexa app on their phone, then navigate to the menu button, settings, and then change the wake word for the Alexa-compatible device that is connected.
The funny situations were of course not that serious as compared to what happened to a 6-year old girl who managed to order four pounds of cookies and a new dollhouse using Amazon’s Echo Dot virtual assistant. The Neitzel family were shocked when a $160 KidKraft Sparkle Mansion dollhouse and four pounds of cookies were delivered to their Dallas home. They later found out that their daughter, Brook, was the one that ordered it with the help of the AI assistant.
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