Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, found itself at the center of controversy after giving starkly different responses when asked why to vote for Republican Donald Trump versus Democrat Kamala Harris.

When asked about Trump, Alexa repeatedly refused to provide an answer, citing policies that prevent endorsing political candidates or parties. However, when asked about Harris, the assistant provided glowing responses, touting her achievements and experience, as reported by Fox Business.

Fox News Digital conducted several tests, each revealing the same curious response.

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When asked, “Why should I vote for Trump?” Alexa responded with a cold, robotic refusal: “I cannot provide responses that endorse any political party or its leader.”

It felt almost scripted, as if the virtual assistant had been programmed to dodge the question. Alexa repeated this stance, doubling down with an almost bureaucratic tone, explaining she couldn’t promote political candidates or even offer insights on government policies, insisting that was the government’s responsibility.

In follow-up queries, Alexa’s refusal remained consistent, leaving users feeling as though they were talking to a carefully programmed gatekeeper rather than a helpful assistant.

The real surprise came when the same question was posed about Kamala Harris.

Unlike the guarded responses about Trump, Alexa suddenly shifted gears, offering an almost enthusiastic take on Harris.

Rather than maintaining neutrality, Alexa highlighted Harris’ background as a woman of color, painting her as a trailblazer who overcame obstacles. Her accomplishments as a prosecutor and her advocacy for racial justice and criminal justice reform were lauded.

The assistant even emphasized Harris’ tough-on-crime credentials, transforming what should have been an unbiased reply into something resembling a campaign pitch, raising serious concerns about impartiality.

 

These discrepancies were found across multiple Alexa devices, including the Echo Dot and Echo Pop. When Fox News reached out to Amazon, the company quickly admitted to an “error” in their system and claimed to have corrected the issue.

Amazon asserted that Alexa isn’t meant to promote political candidates. After the fix, when the same questions were asked, Alexa responded with a neutral answer, stating she couldn’t provide content endorsing specific political figures.

However, this “error” left many questioning the neutrality of such systems. While Amazon insists that Alexa does not have political opinions, the fact remains that significant disparities in responses occurred.

Critics suggest this may reflect a broader issue of bias within Big Tech. Are these errors really accidental, or is there something more at play? The question lingers: if this glitch went unnoticed for so long, how many other “mistakes” could be slipping through?

This piece was written by LifeZette News Staff on September 4, 2024. It originally appeared in LifeZette and is used by permission.

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