Amazon voice assistant Alexa's random laughing spooks users

  • 08/03/2018
Amazon Alexa users have reported the device has been making "witch-like" cackling sounds.
Amazon Alexa users have reported the device has been making "witch-like" cackling sounds. Photo credit: Amazon

Reports that Amazon's voice assistant Alexa is startling users with random laughter has prompted the company to launch an urgent fix.

The laugh, described by some as "witch-like", sometimes happens without the device being woken up, BBC News reports.

Some people reported the laugh occurred when they asked Alexa to perform different tasks, such as playing music.

Amazon says it's "aware of this and working to fix it".

Voice assistants such as Alexa are designed to respond or act when prompted with a wake word, which in this case is "Alexa" or "Amazon".

However the laughter glitch is happening without any prior interaction, which is creeping users out.

"WHY DID MY ALEXA JUST LAUGH OUT OF THE BLUE?!?!?!?" wrote one user on Twitter.

Another wrote: "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."

Most users on social media have seen the humour in the incident, drawing parallels with HAL 9000 from the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey.

"I'm sorry, Dave," the machine famously said. "I'm afraid I can't do that."

Newshub.