Some people think that electronic devices that sit around just waiting for you to talk to them are a neato-keen idea. Some people think these devices are tools of Satan or the NSA or the IRS or the Illuminati or the Mickey Mouse Fan Club, listening in on you and recording everything you say, mutter or grunt. Well… whatever the full truth is, the basic fact seems to be that these things just aren’t quite ready yet. A little more tweaking would seem to be needed. Behold:
News anchor sets off Alexa devices around San Diego ordering unwanted dollhouses
Short form: a little girl got her family’s “Alexa” device to order her a doll house, because Alexa is really good at understanding human speech but not so good at knowing who it should actually listen to. So, this made the news. And then…
… today during CW6 in the morning when Jim Patton and Lynda Martin were talking about a child who accidentally bought a dollhouse and four pounds of cookies
“I love the little girl, saying ‘Alexa ordered me a dollhouse,’” said Patton.
As soon as Patton said that, viewers all over San Diego started complaining their echo devices had tried to order doll houses.
Whoopsie.
Maybe having a system set up in your house that will automatically spend money based on sh*t it hears on TV is not the wisest of all possible things.