Amazon’s 'Alexa' caught giving Biased Political Answers

Amazon’s Alexa has been caught doing an oopsie, and revealing her political leanings. In a video shared on social media, the device was recorded answering the questions ‘Why should I vote for Donald Trump?’ and ‘Why should I vote for Kamala Harris?’ The first was met with a reply of ‘I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.’ When asked about Harris, however, Alexa was a bit more enthusiastic.

‘While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a female of color with a comprehensive plan to address racial injustice and inequality throughout the country,’ Alexa can be heard saying. She goes on to give quite a lot of content for someone who ‘cannot provide content.’

In a separate test, Alexa was asked, ‘Why should I not vote for Kamala Harris?’ The device replies, ‘I cannot provide content that insults another human being.’ When asked the same of Donald Trump, the floodgates open and Alexa cheerfully spits out everything Trump has ever done wrong, both real and imagined.

A spokesperson for Amazon claimed that ‘this was an error that was quickly fixed,’ although they didn’t specify whether the error was political bias, getting caught, or claiming Kamala Harris has policies.