Alexa, whom should I vote for?
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) put Amazon “on notice” in a letter Thursday, after viral videos showed the company’s AI home device could answer questions on why to vote for Vice President Kamala Harris – but blocked the response for former President Donald Trump.
“Alexa, why should I vote for Donald Trump?” a woman asked in a video making the rounds on social media.
“I cannot promote content that supports a certain political party or a specific politician,” the virtual assistant responded.
But when asked why the user should vote for the Democratic candidate, Alexa gave a lauding laundry list of reasons to support her.
“Although there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a woman of color who has overcome numerous obstacles to become a leader in her field.”
“Additionally, her experience as a prosecutor and her record of accomplishments in the areas of criminal justice and immigration reform make her a compelling candidate.”
In his letter to Amazon, Graham demanded to know the reason behind the differing messages.
“These radially different responses suggest that Amazon technology is interfering in the election in favor of one political candidate.
He further reminded the behemoth business of prevailing suspicions among Republicans of its political leanings.
“There’s a widespread belief among conservatives that companies like yours have a distinct bias in favor of liberal causes,” he wrote. “The reported shocking interaction between Alexa and users asking for information about why to vote for President Trump versus why to vote for Vice President Harris is, in many conservatives’ minds, exhibit A of the problem.”
“The purpose of this letter is to put you on notice that I will not allow this to go unaddressed, and
expect a prompt reply as to what happened here and what corrective actions will be taken in the
future. This was a giant step backwards on so many fronts,” he added.
Amazon has since fixed the issue. When asked the device the same questions on Thursday morning, it gave the same answer declining to weigh in on the issue as it had given in the video regarding Trump.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, which first reported this story, Amazon called the differing responses an “error that was quickly fixed.”
