It Sucks If Your Name Is Alexa…

January 30, 2017 in Daily Bulletin

Joanna Stern wrote about the plight of those named Alexa:

  • Microsoft named its virtual assistant Cortana. Apple named its version Siri.
  • Amazon wanted its own product to seem more human. In doing so it called it Alexa – the 39th most popular girl’s name in America.
  • When one father asked his daughter, Alexa, to get him a glass of water, Amazon’s product offered to buy a bottle of premium bottled water.
  • Amazon allows users to change the key word to “Echo”, “Amazon”, or “computer” – but few know this.
  • In the future Amazon is hoping that it can use biometrics to figure out which Alexa an individual is referring to, based on tone of voice.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Via: Marginal Revolution