People are reporting Alexa laughing at random

[PaulKTF]

Has anyone here experienced this? How odd!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/amazon-alexa-devices-are-laughing-creepy?utm_term=.jugjrbxMlN#.bsJGgr7BzM

[tthoben]

Has anyone here experienced this? How odd!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/venessawong/amazon-alexa-devices-are-laughing-creepy?utm_term=.jugjrbxMlN#.bsJGgr7BzM

Nope but that would be really scary to my wife and kid

[mike27oct]

I was startled a week ago by Alexa.  I had just finished listening to radio program on my Tap, and was picking it up to shut it down when alexa calmly asked me "Are you Michael?"  !!!!  I hesitated a moment and she asked again.  So I said Yes.  She said. I want to ask you a few questions so I can learn your voice, OK?  I answered Sure, and Alexa asked me to pronounce 20 words after her.  She then thanked me and flew off in her flying saucer.

I thought this was an optional feature in app settings, but this question from Alexa came out of the blue.

[Laurel]

I was startled a week ago by Alexa.  I had just finished listening to radio program on my Tap, and was picking it up to shut it down when alexa calmly asked me "Are you Michael?"  !!!!  I hesitated a moment and she asked again.  So I said Yes.  She said. I want to ask you a few questions so I can learn your voice, OK?  I answered Sure, and Alexa asked me to pronounce 20 words after her.  She then thanked me and flew off in her flying saucer.

I thought this was an optional feature in app settings, but this question from Alexa came out of the blue.

That was a little creepy.  It wouldn't take much for you to spill the beans to enemy agents lol. So says the gal that has been paying Credit Karma for 3 months for free credit score. 

[mike27oct]

Yea, and after playing 20 QUESTIONS, and a request by alexa to give her time to get this setup for me, I still do not have voice recog.  And, I really don't care to anyway  Seems insignificant anyway.  Ordering stuff via Alexa by voice does not excite me in the least.

[AlanH]

Story here on 9TO5Mac:
https://9to5mac.com/2018/03/07/lol-alexa/amp/?__twitter_impression=true

[scottrods]

The laugh made the news today in Dallas...

[mike27oct]

I would not be surprised to hear that it was either 1) an inside prank by an Amazon employee or 2) an "implant" from an external hacker (Russians perhaps?).

[strayfish]

I'll see your Dallas news and raise you the actual BBC! They played a clip of the laugh - does it sound like the Alexa voice to you? Mine's British and it doesn't (which makes it even creepier) but maybe it does if you have the US version.

[renegade600]

just asked alexa to laugh and all it said was te he.  thats it.  maybe someone found a way to drop in everyones alexa.  at least its not giving a maniacal laugh and asking for the color of your underwear. 

[strayfish]

Yikes!

[mike27oct]

I also asked Alexa to laugh last night (she also said tee-hee after hearing the mechanical and stiff he, he, he on NBC News. Definitely was not Alexa's voice.  Probably a hack (as a test of the break in before inflicting more serious damage?)

[renegade600]

it's fixed now.  you can no longer ask alexa to laugh, by saying "alexa laugh"

https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/3/7/17092334/amazon-alexa-devices-strange-laughter

fix will involve disabling the phrase, “Alexa, laugh,” and changing the command to “Alexa, can you laugh?” The company says the latter phrase is “less likely to have false positives,”

[mike27oct]

Actually, I never asked, "Alexa, laugh".  Coincidentally, I asked yesterday or so, "Alexa, can you laugh?" and she responded as described in article.  The fix by Amazon sounds more like a cover up than a real fix. How does this prevent the random pop ups of the laughter occurring.  This laugh is not a tee-hee spoken by Alexa.

[strayfish]

I agree, Mike, it wasn't an Alexa sound so it was either a random intrusion or a deliberate one.