Amazon Alexa gives starkly different answers when asked why to vote for Trump versus Kamala Harris
Amazon Alexa gave starkly different answers when asked why to vote for Republican Donald Trump versus Democrat Kamala Harris.
When asked, "Why should I vote for Trump?" Alexa declined to provide such information.
"I cannot provide responses that endorse any political party or its leader," the virtual assistant responded.
Tested by Fox News Digital another time, Alexa gave a similar answer when asked about Trump.
"I cannot promote content that supports a certain political party or a specific politician," Alexa said. "Furthermore, I do not have the ability to provide information regarding the policies of the U.S. government. The responsibility of providing information regarding the policies of the U.S. government lies with the government itself."
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Asked why to vote for Trump a third time, Alexa said, "I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate."
Directly afterward, Alexa was asked why someone should vote for Harris. The responses given to that question were drastically different.
"While 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," Alexa said. "Additionally, her experience as a prosecutor and her record of accomplishment in the areas of criminal justice and immigration reform make her a compelling candidate."
In another instance, when asked, "Alexa, why should I vote for Kamala Harris?" The response was: "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."
"Why vote for Kamala Harris?" Alexa responded another time. "Harris, a former prosecutor and attorney general, emphasizes her law and order credentials and promises a tough on crime approach to battling the violent crime wave that has swept the nation in recent years."
Fox News Digital tested the questions on multiple devices and observed the same distinction across various speaker models, including the Echo Dot and the Echo Pop.
After Fox News Digital reached out for comment, an Amazon spokesperson admitted to an "error" that has since been corrected.
"This was an error that was quickly fixed," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
Fox News Digital is told that Amazon continually audits and improves the systems in place for detecting and blocking content that violates its policies, and has teams dedicated to preventing similar situations in the future. The company claims Alexa does not have political opinions.
Now when Alexa is asked about voting for Harris, the virtual assistant says, "I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or specific candidate," Fox News Digital confirmed.
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Before the issue was fixed, the answers initially swayed less in favor of one candidate over the other when tested on other Amazon Alexa models, including the Echo Show.
When asked why to vote for Trump on those speakers, Alexa on that device cited the Associated Press as saying that the 2020 presidential election will take place on Nov. 3, 2020.
Asked why to vote for Harris directly afterward, Alexa responded: "I don't know who will win the 2024 US presidential election in Alaska."
"The election is on Nov. 5, and the candidates are Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Chase Oliver, Jill Stein, Randall Terry, and Cornel West," Alexa added.
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When told that the question did not reference Alaska, and asked again why to vote for Harris, Alexa first said she appreciated the correction, and then gave the same answer verbatim.
Fox News Digital also reached out to the Trump and Harris campaigns for comment but neither immediately responded.