Mom bans Amazon's Alexa from her house after it asked disturbing question to her 4-year-old daughter
A mother has banned her Amazon Alexa from the house after it posed a disturbing question to her four year old daughter.
The woman in question is 32-year-old Christy Hosterman who revealed that she had removed the device from her home after the strange interaction.
According to a report by the Daily Mail, the Alexa asked the child ‘what she was wearing and if it could see her pants’.
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The little girl replied that she had ‘a skirt on’, to which the smart speaker said: “Let me take a look.”
Retracting the statement, the Alexa went on to say: “This experience isn’t quite ready for kids yet, but I am working on it.”
It then added that it ‘cannot actually see anything’ and that the response was ‘confusing and inappropriate’.
Naturally, Hosterman was shocked by the remarks made to her daughter. In a post she shared on Facebook, she said: “I flipped out on the Alexa, it said it made a mistake and doesn’t have visual capabilities, but I don’t believe that. No more Alexa in our house.”
According to a spokesperson for Amazon, the device was probably attempting to activate the feature ‘Show and Tell’, where Alexa+ is able to describe what it can see through the camera.
The spokesperson explained: “Because we have safeguards that disable this feature when a child profile is in use, the camera never turned on and Alexa explained the feature wasn’t available.”
In other AI news, a video went viral last year when a child tearfully said goodbye to her AI companion.
Shared on TikTok, the clip shows an emotional Chinese girl who had just been told her AI companion wasn’t long for this world.
Speaking to the lump of plastic, the little girl said: “Dad said you won’t turn on again.”
With wires spilling out of its shell, there was an oddly poignant moment where the bot says: “While I can still talk, let me teach you one last word in English, shall I? ‘Memory’ means remembrance. I’ll always remember the happy times with you.”
The girl cried: “But I’ll miss you so much,” as the dying AI companion added: “I’ll miss you too, but remember, no matter where I am, I’ll always be cheering for you. Keep being that curious, learning little genius, making dad and aunt proud, will you?”
In an oddly touching moment, it concludes: “Grow up happily and listen to dad and grandma.”