Some Amazon users have reported a rather disturbing event involving their Alexa-powered devices. The popular AI virtual assistant behind Amazon Echo and Echo Dot devices has been allegedly letting out an unprompted laugh the last few weeks.
The unsettling image comes to us right outside of any classic sci-fi movie gone wrong. People are having problems with their Amazon devices randomly letting out a creepy little cackle without any intentional command.
As funny as it may seem, nobody wants to have this going on in their home. Imagine just watching TV one night alone when your Echo Dot just starts creepily giggling. Lucky for us, Amazon assures that there will be no Alexa-uprising in the near future.
The problem comes in that Alexa has always had the ability to laugh on command when users would say “Alexa, laugh.” Unfortunately, this simple command has led to a lot of false positive as it can be easily mistaken for a number of other things.
Amazon is going to change Alexa up a bit, so it is a little harder to prompt her laughter, changing the instigating phrase to “Alexa, can you laugh?” Alexa will also give you a little warning before and say “Sure, I can laugh” now, acknowledging the request before letting out a chuckle.