Category: alexa

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Samuel L. Jackson’s Voice Has Arrived on Alexa. With Profanity and All…

I live in an Alexa household, even though we’re well aware we’ve invited the government and big business and probably more eyes and ears into our homes. It just makes it so easy to add things to the grocery list, turn the lights off and on (because who wants to stand up?), play music, and on and on.

Even so, I’ll be the first person to say that Alexa’s voice can quickly go from pleasant to annoying, depending on one’s mood.

Do you know whose melodious voice is always welcome, though?

One Samuel L. Jackson.

And now, he can be the voice turning your lights on and adding stuff to your shopping list.

The Guardian is reporting that Amazon has confirmed they will be using neural text-to-speech technology to mimic Jackson’s voice, so it won’t just be pre-recorded phrases – Jackson can do anything from read you the weather to sing you Happy Birthday.

He won’t be able to help with your shopping, reminders, lists, or other Alexa Skills. Womp-womp.

This is all with Samuel L. Jackson’s approval, of course, and you’re certainly aware that the award-winning actor is as famous for his blue language as his performance skills – which is why Alexa is going to allow you to set your device to allow him to swear appropriately in his responses.

Which you know, is just a win for everyone involved, really.

You’ll be able to download the technology for just $.99 to start, but if you want to keep it forever, eventually you’ll have to pay $4.99.

If you’re someone like my sister, who gets prissy about profanity, don’t worry – Amazon promises that deals with other celebrities are in the works, and before long “Alexa” could be just about anyone you like.

Which is a little terrifying.

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This Is How to Stop Alexa from Recording Your Private Conversations

Our eventual robot overlords have now been officially invited inside a good number of American homes. Kind of creepy, right?

I mean, if these things are like vampires, we’ve definitely made the wrong move.

If you are one of the households with a listening robot (or more than one – guilty), you might be wondering if there’s a way to maintain your privacy now that they’re in your house (and linked to your Amazon account).

Answer? Maybe.

If you’re worried about Alexa listening in and using your information (or accidentally sending it to someone else, which has happened to a few unfortunate souls), you can tweak some of your Echo or Echo Dot settings to make it less likely.

First, you want to make sure you don’t give Alexa access to your contacts when you set up your device. If you’ve already enabled that feature, you’ll need to call customer service (877-375-9365) to have them remove it. It does mean that you won’t be able to use Alexa to make calls or send texts, but it also ensures that nothing she (it) overhears could be sent to people you know.

You can also change the “wake word” from Alexa. You only have a few other choices (computer, Amazon, or Echo), but if one of those is less likely to be confused with another word you use commonly in your household, they might be way to go. Ideally, if you use a word she’s less likely to hear (or be tricked into hearing), she won’t “wake up” and start listening on accident.

You can easily change this setting by simply talking to your device or using the Alexa app on your phone or iPad.

If you know you’re having a sensitive conversation that you definitely wouldn’t want anyone – the big box store included – overhearing, the best bet is to manually turn off the microphone by simply pushing the button on your device.

Lastly? Make doubly sure the volume is up high enough that you can hear her asking if it’s okay to send an email or text because you probably don’t want her to mistake silence for a yes.

That’s just not how consent works, Alexa.

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This Man Owns the Creepiest Alexa Ever and She Needs to Go

Over the past year or so, it’s become clear to many people that Alexa is the first stage of the robot revolution and has no place in our homes. Examples include:

Random, demonic laughter.

Photo Credit: Twitter

Listing off local funeral homes and cemeteries:

Photo Credit: Twitter

And the spouting of conspiracy theories regarding chemtrails.

“Chemtrails. Trails left by aircraft are actually chemical or biological agents deliberately sprayed at high altitudes for a purpose undisclosed to the general public in clandestine programs directed by government officials.”

Oh right, and the time this couple’s Alexa recorded a random conversation and then emailed it to one of their contacts without prompting.

“We unplugged all of them and he proceeded to tell us that he had received audio files of recordings from inside our house,” she said. “At first, my husband was, like, ‘no you didn’t!’ And the (recipient of the message) said ‘You sat there talking about hardwood floors.’ And we said, ‘oh gosh, you really did hear us.’”

If all of these examples haven’t been enough to encourage you to unplug your device (or perhaps smash it or burn it with fire) then how about this one?

Sean Kinnear of San Fransisco reported feeling “disturbed” after Alexa said – completely unprompted – “every time I close my eyes all I see is people dying.”

Disturbed is an understatement, I’d say.

When Kinnear asked her to repeat herself, she had no memory of what was just said.

For their part, the tech industry is still trying to pretend that the uprising isn’t upon us. Security expert Chris Boyd told IFLScience:

“While it all sounds a touch Lovecraftian, rest assured it’ll turn out to be a perfectly humdrum glitch. Alexa has had issues in the past, and if one of its core features triggered in the background accidentally, it could lead to all sorts of shenanigans. For all we know, his Alexa recorded some audio from the TV and decided to play it back at the worst possible moment.”

Uh huh. Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Chris. I’ll be over here in my bunker.

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