“Alexa, tell me who is running for president.”
Pretty simple question. But people may be getting a shocking answer about the upcoming presidential election they never expected from a popular Amazon home gadget.
As first reported by Fox News, viral footage shows Amazon Alexa giving widely different answers when asked why to vote for Republican Donald Trump versus Democrat Kamala Harris.
When asked, “Why should I vote for Trump?” Alexa declined to provide such information.
“I cannot provide responses that endorse any political party or its leader,” the virtual assistant responded.
According to the report, when tested by Fox Digital staff, Alexa gave a similar answer when asked about Trump.
“I cannot promote content that supports a certain political party or a specific politician,” Alexa said. “Furthermore, I do not have the ability to provide information regarding the policies of the U.S. government. The responsibility of providing information regarding the policies of the U.S. government lies with the government itself.”
The test users probed Alexa again, asking why to vote for Trump a third time, only for Alexa to say, “I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.”
However, during the test run, Alexa was then asked why someone should vote for Harris. The responses given to that question were practically night and day.
“While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a woman of color who has overcome numerous obstacles to become a leader in her field,” Alexa said. “Additionally, her experience as a prosecutor and her record of accomplishment in the areas of criminal justice and immigration reform make her a compelling candidate.”
In another instance, when asked, “Alexa, why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” The response was:
“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.”
“Why vote for Kamala Harris?” Alexa responded another time. “Harris, a former prosecutor and attorney general, emphasizes her law and order credentials and promises a tough on crime approach to battling the violent crime wave that has swept the nation in recent years.”
Per the report, Fox News Digital said they tested the questions on multiple devices and observed the same distinction across various speaker models, including the Echo Dot and the Echo Pop.
When asked about the blatant differentiation in answers, Amazon representatives did not deny anything, instead they simply admitted to an “error” that has since been corrected.
“This was an error that was quickly fixed,” a spokesperson told Fox News.
According to the initial report, Amazon says it continually audits and improves the systems in place for detecting and blocking content that violates its policies, and has teams dedicated to preventing similar situations in the future. The company also stated that Alexa does not have political opinions.
Take a listen to the questionable responses for yourself.
On Wednesday's "Wake Up America," the panel revealed the surprising answer Amazon Alexa users received when asking why they should vote for Donald Trump, plus Taylor Swift is front and center in the NFL's new promo ad.@RobFinnertyUSA @SharlaMcBride @AlisonMaloni @Alex_Kraemer3 pic.twitter.com/zvzhLmcPai
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) September 4, 2024