Amazon has been trying to overcome the problem that is making Amazon Echo laugh at the users randomly. The issue was reported by many users on Twitter and Reddit. The online retail giant has been aware of the issue that the Alexa voice-activated Echo Internet-connected speakers have been facing a laughing problem after the posts appeared on Twitter and Reddit. The Echo speakers activate when they hear the word ‘Alexa’. This makes the device listen and respond to the commands like changing the volume. However, the random laughs coming from the speakers have customers nervous and confused.
Amazon’s fix for creepy laughing Alexa reports will disable the “Alexa, laugh” phrase https://t.co/Dqjx5eEwUq pic.twitter.com/RrBJqg2mzs
— The Verge (@verge) March 8, 2018
Lying in bed about to fall asleep when Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh… there’s a good chance I get murdered tonight.
— Gavin Hightower (@GavinHightower) February 26, 2018
Users said that it is like a horror movie. Other devices which work with Alexa like HP Inc. personal computers and modems do not have this problem. It appears that only Amazon Echo and Amazon Echo Dot are facing this issue. A Reddit user described the problem with their Amazon Echo Dot saying, “We just added the echo dots two months ago. The dot we have in the master bath has twice now randomly played a track of a woman laughing at about 10 p.m. the first time I thought the fire tv was sending audio through it since I had been trying to sync them up to the tv, but tonight was completely random. No indication on the app that the device heard any command. We had the dot laugh several times and it wasn’t the laugh Alexa produces, but definitely sounded like a canned laugh, not like someone laughing live.”
Amazon said that the company is “working to fix the problem.” The company also said they understand what the issue is and they have a solution for it. Nate Michel, Amazon’s spokesman wrote an email that states, “In rare circumstances, Alexa can mistakenly hear the phrase ‘Alexa, laugh. We are changing that phrase to be ‘Alexa, can you laugh?’ which is less likely to have false positives, and we are disabling the short utterance ‘Alexa, laugh.’ We are also changing Alexa’s response from simply laughter to ‘Sure, I can laugh’ followed by laughter.”
Amanda and I were sitting in my room just talking and whatnot and my Amazon Alexa started laughing… I’m scared
— Sierra (@sierracatheryn) February 20, 2018
https://twitter.com/vedantNAIK/status/970231970583195648
Alexa was introduced with Amazon Echo in November 2014. The company said that the assistant is inspired by the onboard the Starship Enterprise of “Star Trek.” A user can set alarm, ask about the weather forecast, can play music and is also able to perform a series of other tasks by simply communicating with Alexa. Other personal assistants like Siri which was released on iPhone 4s in 2011, Microsoft Cortana which was introduced in 2014, and Google Assistant which was launched in Google’s instant messaging app Allo in 2016, are also some of the very comprehensive and impressive virtual personal assistants.