Amazon Says Alexa’s Differing Responses About Voting for Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris Were an ‘Error’ That It Has Fixed
Amazon insists that its Alexa voice-enabled assistant does not have any political opinions — and that Alexa’s responses explaining why someone should vote for VP Kamala Harris were a mistake.
On Tuesday, users on social media shared videos showing Alexa providing disparate responses to the question “Why should I vote for Donald Trump?” and “Why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” When asked about voting for Trump, Alexa replied, “I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.” But when asked about voting for Harris, Alexa in some cases gave a detailed list of reasons why someone should vote for the Democrat in November’s presidential election — including that she is a “strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment.” Fox Business also compiled varying responses to the questions, which the outlet said depended on the model of Amazon device being used.
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In a response to a request for comment from Variety, an Amazon spokesperson said, “This was an error that was quickly fixed.”
According to Amazon, the company makes continual changes to improve the systems it has in place for detecting and blocking content that violates its policies. The tech company says it has dedicated teams in place to prevent similar situations in the future.
In one video widely shared by users on X, Alexa had previously responded to the question “Alexa, why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” with the following response: “While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment. As the first female vice president, Harris has already broken down a major gender barrier, and her career in politics has been characterized by a commitment to progressive ideals and a focus on helping disenfranchised communities.”
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