Western Reader
Amazon is facing backlash as its Alexa devices gave notably different responses when asked about Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The incident caused an uproar on social media and raised concerns about political bias, with allegations that Amazon favored the Democratic candidate over the former Republican president. Amazon has acknowledged the issue as an “error” and took immediate steps to address it.
The controversy unfolded when videos emerged showing Alexa refusing to answer why someone should vote for Trump, stating it couldn’t promote a specific candidate. However, when asked the same about Kamala Harris, Alexa provided detailed reasons, highlighting her background as a woman of color, her political achievements in criminal justice reform, immigration policy, racial justice, and her career as a prosecutor.
𝕏 users are outraged to find that @amazon ‘s Alexa was taking part in what many are calling “election interference”. Alexa would refuse to give reason why to vote for Trump yet give reason to vote for #KamalaHarris2024.
Amazon, now, admits error made Alexa provide differing… pic.twitter.com/oke7WjiiCH— ✞ Gabriel ✞ (@gabrielhaynes) September 3, 2024
This disparity drew criticism, especially from conservatives who saw it as another example of Big Tech favoring left-leaning politicians. Critics, including Trump campaign officials, condemned the incident as Silicon Valley’s interference in the political process. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung labeled it “big tech election interference.”
In response to the backlash, Amazon admitted the error had been fixed swiftly. A company spokesperson stated, “This was an error that was quickly fixed.” Amazon clarified that Alexa is not politically inclined and measures were in place to prevent similar issues in the future.
I tested Jeff Bezos’ Amazon Alexa after seeing some sketchy videos of how it was answering questions about Trump and Harris.
The issue with it giving reasons to vote for Kamala and not Donald has been fixed.
Amazon insists it was an error. I call BS. They just got caught. pic.twitter.com/o5ZKfrMun7
— Kristi L. Talmadge (@KristiTalmadge) September 3, 2024
Amazon stated that Alexa now gives a neutral response to both candidates, refraining from promoting any specific political figure.
Despite Amazon’s clarification, the incident has raised concerns about Big Tech’s impact on public discourse and potential influence on elections. As the 2024 presidential race unfolds, these concerns are likely to persist, especially with Trump and Harris competing for their party nominations. With Trump’s continued conservative support and Harris’ progressive stance, the competition for voter attention is intense.
The timing of the incident was unfortunate for Amazon, occurring amid increased scrutiny of tech firms regarding censorship and bias. Following past controversies like the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, many conservatives question Big Tech’s impartiality. Trump advisor Jason Miller sarcastically referred to the Alexa incident as just another “error” akin to recent censorship issues.
Amazon now faces the challenge of rebuilding trust among users who doubt the neutrality of its technology. While Amazon asserts that Alexa is unbiased, the incident where the device favored Harris over Trump has raised serious questions about the algorithms and policies guiding its responses. Amazon has pledged to monitor its platforms to prevent similar errors in the future.
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