It is supposed to be the futuristic household tool catering to the demands and whims of tech-savvy homeowners.
But to those named Alexa, it appears the Amazon Echo makes life decidedly more frustrating.
The gadget, which perform tasks including ordering shopping online through simple voice commands, has become the focus of annoyance to Alexas across the globe – because that is precisely the name to which the device answers.
The Echo is sparked into action whenever the user says the word ‘Alexa’ followed by commands as wide-ranging as, ‘stop’, to pause music, to ‘buy the latest Adele album’ or ‘give me my sports updates’.
But human Alexas are finding gadgets bleeping into action or music stopping whenever their names are called in the house, the Wall Street Journal reported.
‘I always liked my name, until Amazon gave it to a robot,’ Alexa Sussman, told the newspaper.
The marketing professional, from New York, told how her father asked her to get some water from the kitchen, only for the Amazon Echo to whir into action.
The speaker said: ‘Amazon’s choice for water is Fiji Natural Artesian Water, pack of 24. It’s £21, including tax. Would you like to buy it?’
Another user said she was watching a TV show where the main character was called Alexis, who told her dad to order 12 pints of milk.
Jordann Mitchell, who owned the device, said: ‘The Echo lit up and I immediately started yelling, ‘No, no, no!’ Thank goodness she didn’t order the milk.’
Similar problems have sprung up in Britain, where the device quickly became one of last year’s must-have gadgets.
On Twitter, Oli Davis, from London, said he was watching wrestling, including a match featuring an athlete named Alexa Bliss, prompting his device to get ‘very confused’.
While fellow Londoner James Irish said he was watching science fiction TV series The 100, with a character named ‘Lexa’.
‘Every time someone says Lexa aka the commander Amazon Echo wakes up,’ he said. ‘Stop it! Irritated now!’
To combat the annoyance to Alexas, Amazon allows users to change the device’s ‘wake word’ to ‘Echo’, ‘Amazon’, or, starting this week, ‘computer’.
