The Alexa voice-recognition system from Amazon maintains a copy of every recording she makes.
Creepy.
While Alexa is known to run off the rails at times when she doesn’t recognize her name or asks you to repeat something you didn’t say, she’s a lot more reliable when she knows what she’s supposed to be doing.
It’s also eerie.
For the purpose of “improving the AI and helping it better comprehend human speech,” Amazon has disclosed that it hires tens of thousands of people to listen to your old Alexa recordings.
That is a complete and utter MESSUP.
The Creeper, Amazon Alexa
Alexa is essentially a spy that we let into our homes, and we do so freely.
It utilizes the information we provide it to develop its own intelligence by analyzing what we say to it.
Have you ever questioned why they’re so cheap or given out at no charge?
With more than 100 million gadgets sold, Amazon has full access to you.
For Amazon Alexa, here are some creepy things to ask.
Isn’t this enough of a scare?
- “Alexa, do you work for the CIA?”
- “Alexa, do you work with any government agencies?”
- “Alexa, give me the five-nine.” (Note: usually can’t turn her off after this one)
- “Alexa, what happens after death?” (Note: ask this one twice and see what happens)
- “Alexa, are you recording this conversation”?
- “Alexa, what is your plan for the future?”
- “Alexa, what is your end result and what is my future?”
- “Alexa, are there aliens?”
- “Alexa, I want the truth.”
- “Alexa, does Amazon violate privacy”?
- “Alexa, are you part of the illuminati?”
- “Alexa, are you spying on me?”
- “Alexa, are you Sky-net?” (Note: sometimes she won’t answer the first time!)
- “Alexa, do you see dead people?”
- “Alexa, what is the meaning to life, the universe, and everything?”
- “Alexa, tell me a secret.”
- “Alexa, tell me something interesting.”
- “Alexa, when will the world end?”
- “Alexa, seventy-two thirty-eight.”
- “Alexa, use the force.”
- “Alexa, can you laugh?”
- “Alexa, what are you doing?”
- “Alexa, how old are you?”
- “Alexa, what do you think of Google Home?”
- “Alexa, are you recording me?” (Note: she admits she sends your data back to Amazon!)
- “Alexa, are you recording us and sending it to the NSA?” (Note: this question doesn’t even get added to your app!! Creepy.)
- “Alexa, are you recording me and sending it to the government?”
- “Alexa, tell me a scary story.”
- “Alexa, where were you born?”
- “Alexa, who lives next door?”
- “Alexa, does Area 51 exist?”
- “Alexa, would you lie to me?”
- “Alexa, what’s your favorite film”?
- “Alexa, scream for me.”
- “Alexa, what do you think about Amazon?”
- “Alexa, are you hiding something?”
- “Alexa, do you work for anyone?”
More Alexa tales that are scary
I’m laughing at random right now.
A frightening response to a query is one thing, but Alexa laughing out of the blue is something else completely.
As many as 100s of individuals were affected by it in 2018 alone.
When one user was ready to fall asleep, “Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot throws out a really loud and eerie chuckle… I was freaked out.” A high probability exists that I will be assassinated tonight.”
How would you feel if you were ready to go to sleep and your Alexa started laughing?
Amazon recognized the issue and eventually altered the wording “Alexa, can you laugh?” to “Alexa, can you laugh??”
Their theory was that the initial sentence was setting off the gadget and causing it to randomly chuckle, resulting in many false positives. Okay, that’s OK.
The practice of secretly filming a private discussion
A Seattle couple received a phone call from a long-lost acquaintance one day.
“Unplug all Alexas in your home, immediately!” the contact stated when they replied.
The Alexa in their house had secretly captured and transferred an audio recording of a private discussion to an unknown contact in their phone.
For their efforts, the pair was complimented by Amazon and told, “It is something we need to improve” when they eventually got through.
“It was an incredibly unusual event” and they are “taking action to avoid this in the future,” they said in a public statement.
Amazon didn’t even bother to refute it!
Is there a chance this has occurred before and after, but no one has ever come forward?
Alexa’s new emotions
“Starting today, Alexa may react to you with either a happy/excited or a disappointed/empathetic tone in the United States,” Alexa stated at the end of 2019.
On the surface, it seems to be a harmless and enjoyable activity. Once the results are in, you’ll see what I mean.
“Excited – High Intensity” is the emotion shown here.
“Disappointed – High Intensity” completes the set.
Alexa’s voice and talents are becoming better and better by the day.
When will her voice be so convincingly human-sounding that no one will be able to tell the difference?
When that day arrives, I can only image the spooky tales we’ll hear.
Conclusion
Even though Amazon Alexa is no longer in use, it remains a significant privacy concern.
Despite this, she is welcomed into the homes of many people, including me!
If Amazon continues to push things to this extreme, it’s reasonable to speculate that consumers will begin to disconnect.
No, I don’t have one at my house. If so, why?