“Some Alexa users may feel like they’ve been dropped into a science fiction story about an artificial intelligence gone awry,” Don Sweeney reports for The Sacramento Bee. “The virtual assistant in Amazon’s Echo devices has been frightening people with spontaneous laughter, according to multiple social media reports.”
“‘I was trying to turn off some lights and they kept turning back on. After the third request, Alexa stopped responding and instead did an evil laugh,’ wrote one Reddit poster on a thread about the device,” Sweeney reports. “‘The laugh wasn’t in the Alexa voice. It sounded like a real person. My wife was there when it happened and she is the only person who can drop-in. I still get chills.'”
“The Daily Dot suggests the rogue Alexas may be misinterpreting sounds from a nearby television or glitched by a third-party app or a malware infection,” Sweeney reports. “Amazon did not reply to requests for comment about Alexa’s ‘evil laugh,’ according to Metro.”
WHY DID MY ALEXA JUST LAUGH OUT OF THE BLUE?!?!?!?
— Kyle Fitzy (@kylefitzy8) March 4, 2018
Lying in bed about to fall asleep when Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh… there’s a good chance I get murdered tonight.
— Gavin Hightower (@GavinHightower) February 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/CaptHandlebar/status/966838302224666624
https://twitter.com/taylorkatelynne/status/970738507718283265
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Always listening is scarier than randomly laughing.
SEE ALSO:
Google Home Mini spies on everything reviewer said 24/7, transmits recordings to Google’s servers – October 12, 2017
Amazon Echo murder case spotlights question of what ‘always on’ actually means – December 28, 2016
Apple: Hey Siri and Live Photos data stays only on your device to ensure privacy – September 12, 2015
Apple issues iPhone manifesto; blasts Android’s lack of updates, lack of privacy, rampant malware – August 10, 2015
Edward Snowden: Apple is a privacy pioneer – June 5, 2015
A message from Tim Cook about Apple’s commitment to your privacy – September 18, 2014