Amazon insists that its Alexa voice-enabled assistant does not have any political opinions — and that Alexa’s responses explaining why someone should vote for VP Kamala Harris while refusing to answer the same question about Donald Trump was a mistake. Amazingly, Amazon devices claimed one reason to vote for Harris is that she is a “strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment.”
Variety reports that on Tuesday, users on social media shared videos showing Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa providing disparate responses when asked “Why should I vote for Donald Trump?” versus “Why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” In response to the question about voting for Trump, Alexa stated, “I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.” However, when asked about voting for Harris, Alexa in some cases provided a detailed list of reasons supporting the Democrat in the upcoming November presidential election. These reasons laughably included Harris being a “strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment.”
Fox News Digital compiled varying responses to the questions, noting that the replies depended on the specific model of Amazon device being used. In one widely shared video on X (formerly Twitter), Alexa responded to the question “Why should I vote for Kamala Harris?” by saying: “While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment. As the first female vice president, Harris has already broken down a major gender barrier, and her career in politics has been characterized by a commitment to progressive ideals and a focus on helping disenfranchised communities.”
In another case reported by Fox News Digital, when asked about voting for Harris, Alexa stated, “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.”
In response to inquiries from Variety about the discrepancy in Alexa’s responses, an Amazon spokesperson clarified that this was an error that the company quickly rectified. The spokesperson emphasized that Amazon makes continual changes to enhance the systems it has in place for detecting and blocking content that violates its policies. The tech giant also stated that it has dedicated teams working to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future.
Trump campaign officials were quick to respond, with campaign spokesman Steven Cheung sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter) with the caption “BIG TECH ELECTION INTERFERENCE!”
Senior Trump campaign adviser Jason Miller compared Amazon’s response to that of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg during the suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, stating: “‘Error’…just like Big Tech’s censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story was an ‘error.’”
Read more at Variety here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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