Amazon Alexa (Amazon Echo)

Amazon Alexa

"Amazon Echo Product" text Type Amazon Product Launch Date 2014 Status Active Product Line Product Platform Amazon Website Amazon Echo Website

Alexa Voice System, commonly known as Alexa, is an intelligent personal assistant developed by Amazon. It works with compatible devices, such as the Amazon Echo. On command, Alexa responds to voice commands and can perform a number of tasks, from playing music or relaying the news, to controlling smart home devices. Alexa is considered to be a "virtual assistant," similar to Siri, Google Now, or Cortana. There have been many issues since the Amazon Alexa was launched in 2014 regarding privacy and security of users.

History

Dave Limp, an Amazon executive first described the idea of the Amazon Echo as "hard" as there are many inventions needed to be made in order for the product to be successful. The device was worked on in Amazon labs for many years where it was evolved and tested. The biggest challenge was designing the Amazon Echo was there was no other product at the time to compare it to. Other voice control systems such as Apple's Siri were fundamentally different. The Amazon Echo was noted as one of the biggest hits in Amazon's history.

Functions

The Amazon Echo is signaled when the wake word is spoken which is set to default by the name "Alexa". Users can program their own wake word to be used with the device if they do not like "Alexa". After being signaled by the wake word, Alexa responds via the speakers in an Alexa-compatible device, such as the Amazon Echo. The audio that is spoken after the wake word, including less than a second of audio that came before the wake word, is sent to the Cloud. The ring on top of the Amazon Echo will turn light blue to let the user know that the audio is being streamed to the Cloud.

Alexa Skills

Amazon Alexa also supports Alexa skills, which are voice-driven capabilities that are designed to enhance the functionality of Alexa and Amazon devices. Alexa can answer questions that users ask her and refer them to outside resources. Alexa can also play music, set timers and alarms, create shopping lists, give news and sports updates, check calendars, get traffic information, order Amazon products, and many more functions to help a user. Moreover, Alexa can offer a wide array of features as the technology is constantly being updated. For instance, as of November 2016, Alexa Appstore had over 5,000 functions available compared to 1,000 functions in June 2016.

Ethical Implications

Many concerns have been raised about Alexa and other voice response systems, many with ethical implications regarding privacy and security.

Privacy

Amazon Alexa responds when the wake word is spoken, therefore Alexa is always listening. It is not unusal for the Amazon Echo to wake up by mistake start recording audio that user's may not know is being recorded. The information that follows the wake word is sent to Amazon's cloud servers in order to determine the correct response, but also to learn more about the user While Alexa is always listening, it's only sending the content that is said after it's signaled. This voice information is used to better personalize the experience, however, there's no certainty how long this data is stored in Amazon's servers.

At the core of the many questions that has risen about Amazon Alexa are how much Alexa is listening to its users and whether that affects privacy or could be potentially used by law enforcement. A spokesperson from Amazon stated that there must be a proper legal warrant in order for Amazon to give out customer information. Users can also delete voice recordings that were sent to Alexa by going to the History tab in the Settings section of their Alexa App, however, Amazon warns that by deleting voice recordings and interactions made with Alexa, the user experience may be affected.

By pressing the button on the Amazon Echo or Echo Dot, users can turn off the microphone on their device and thus Alexa's listening.

Benton County, Arkansas Homicide Investigation One of the main concerns of Amazon Alexa is who has access to voice recordings and audio files, especially when it comes to a criminal investigation. Benton County investigators filed a warrant for any recordings from an Alexa-operated Amazon Echo device that was in the home of a homicide suspect in 2015. Amazon has so far declined to provide investigators with the recordings due to privacy concerns and First Amendment protections. In a February 2017 court filing, it was stated that "Given the important First Amendment and privacy implications at stake, the warrant should be quashed unless the Court finds that the State has met its heightened burden for compelled production of such materials."

Security

Alexa has the ability to communicate with third-party services in order to carry out commands, which may cause concern for some. There are also concerns that people can hack into the system and hear you at home, but the data that is sent from the device to Amazon's servers is encrypted, which helps to secure your information form potential hackers.

Other instances that sparked privacy and security concerns was when a 6-year-old accidentally ordered a $170 dollhouse and cookies via Alexa and when a news reporter reported that incident which prompted Alex devices all over San Diego to attempt to order dollhouses. However, with the privacy issues, there are two sides to the debate. For the owners of Alexa, they feel that the devices may intrude on their privacy due to its constant listening. This was the case when Alexa ordered a dollhouse by request of a unbeknownst 6-year-old. However, it is also up to the parents and owners of Alexa to understand the capabilities of the technology they are buying and set security measures accordingly. Alexa has options that can prevent unnecessary purchases and can even change its "start word". So as much as it is Amazon's duty to ensure security measures on its products, consumers are also responsible for understanding the technology they are buying.