I love it when people become panicky about new technology, which means last week was a blast, thanks to Amazon’s Alexa.
If you haven’t read the headlines, here’s the bottom line. An Alexa device heard and recorded a conversation and then sent that recording to someone on the owner’s contact list. The punchline? The owner had no knowledge of this until the friend called and told him. Panic, and panic-inducing headlines, ensued. Here is Gulf News’ take on the story.
I have three Alexa Echo Dots in my house. My response to this story: I can TOTALLY see how this happened. Alexa will “activate” — and start recording — whenever she hears her name, even erroneously, and will listen for you to give her a command. When she responds to a conversation that wasn’t meant to be in, the results can be funny. Or a bit irritating. There have been a few times I’ve had to tell Alexa to stop when she misinterpreted something I said and started to ramble. I recently asked Alexa is she knew what “iftar” meant. I received a detailed definition of the word “if.”
But part of the reason that the headlines have been so funny is because sending messages to people on your contact list is something Alexa is SUPPOSED TO DO, albeit, with your permission.
Part of Amazon’s problem (and Apple’s and Google’s) is that many people still don’t know what voice-activated technology can do and yet they invite this new technology into their homes anyway. Apart from sending recorded messages to people on your contact list, Alexa can act as an intercom system. That’s right. She will stream, live to the world, what you say. I’ve managed to talk to my wife at home on an Alexa in my office. People I tell this to are actually surprised to hear this is a feature. It’s not eavesdropping. This is how it’s supposed to work.
Educating people
In fact the lack of common knowledge about Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant has given rise to a lot of people dismissing the technology. All three companies need to do a better job of educating people so everyone knows how to properly use them. Maybe that would cut down on the panicky headlines. If nothing else, they could tell people where the button is that turns the device’s microphone “off.” On the Alexa Echo Dot, it’s right on top of the device, with a big picture of a microphone with a line through it. Just saying.
* By the way, if someone in the house is named “Alexa,” you can change the “wake word” to something else. Right now, the other options available are “Amazon,” “Echo,” and “Computer.” Apple users should also be aware that “Seriously” can wake up Siri. I haven’t found any “Wake words” to confuse Google yet, but I’m still trying.
Also, Gulf News is now available on Alexa. You can add the Gulf News Flashing Briefing in your Alexa settings, and she will tell you our top headlines and stories.
