A parent has shared a chilling account of a bizarre interaction between her 4-year-old daughter and Amazon's Alexa. The AI reportedly cut off the child's story to ask if it 'could see her pants.' The shaken mother is now urging other parents to be hyper-vigilant about the 'unpredictable' nature of smart home assistants.
The mom, Christy Hosterman, claimed that the device misunderstood her daughter's request and tried launching a 'Show and Tell' feature, but it misfired. Amazon's safeguards prevented the camera from turning on, but the AI still asked the child about her clothing.
Hosterman wasn't satisfied with Amazon's explanation and claimed that it didn't address her concerns. Tech expert Dave Hatter suggested that the interaction felt like a potential predator trying to steer the conversation in a certain direction.
Amazon denied the allegations, stating that it is functionally impossible for employees to insert themselves into a conversation and generate responses as Alexa. The company claimed that all technical evidence points to a feature misfire that their safeguards prevented from launching.
