Technology has made such impressive advances that the abilities of our devices—from smart phones to tablets—are almost startling.
Recently, this has become especially true for owners of Amazon Echo devices. According to Buzzfeed, people have been reporting some pretty creepy activity from the voice-enabled assistant 'Alexa.' Users were terrified to discover that their devices were laughing at random.
Listen for yourself:
Multiple users have shared their experiences with the malfunctioning bots, and each one is creepier than the last.
But don't unplug Alexa just yet. Amazon acknowledged its device's alarming new skill, and Echo owners will be relieved to know there's a logical explanation.
"In rare circumstances, Alexa can mistakenly hear the phrase 'Alexa, laugh,'" Amazon said in a statement to BuzzFeed News on Wednesday. The company said it is disabling that phrase and changing it to a more complex command: 'Alexa, can you laugh?'
"We are also changing Alexa's response from simple laughter to 'Sure, I can laugh,' followed by laughter," Amazon said. This is decidedly less creepy than spontaneous bursts of computerized laughter.
It sounds like the human race is safe from a robotic overthrow—for now. But if your Kindle starts chuckling out of nowhere, all bets are off.
Follow Delish on Instagram.
Download the Delish app.
