There's no denying that pretty much everyone could use an Alexa in their lives. Her voice command capabilities allow users to make song requests from Spotify, order things from Amazon, turn off the lights, and even make internet searches at the drop of a hat. But lately, a glitch in Alexa devices has been causing them to burst out in random laughter — and I don't know about you, but that's one of the creepiest things I've ever heard. So if you've been wondering why your Amazon Alexa is laughing at you, don't worry, because she isn't actually watching you — it's just a bug that's currently being fixed.
Whenever I go to my friend's apartment, I always make a point to ditch everyone else, and hangout with their Alexa for a few minutes. It sounds a little lame, but honestly, I just love seeing everything she can do. Based on the fact that Alexa owners have reported random laughter emitting from their devices, though, I'm pretty sure I could never own one. Because that is so. Freaking. Terrifying.
According to The Verge, this creepy AF glitch is being caused by the fact that Alexa mistakes common phrases for the command, "Alexa, laugh." Since she attempts to follow any voice command to the best of her abilities, she does as she (thinks) she's told. Amazon told The Verge that they're going to be disabling said phrase, and if users want to hear Alexa laugh (for whatever reason?), they'll have to say "Alexa, can you laugh?" It's a little more complex, and therefore, less easy to mistake for other common phrases. Amazon continued to tell The Verge that from now on, before Alexa laughs, she'll preface it with, "Sure, I can laugh," which will then be followed by laughter. I suppose that's a little less creepy than strait up laughter.
Twitter user @GavinHighTower said that his Alexa started laughing when he was trying to fall asleep. So like, I guess sleep with one eye open tonight? I probably wouldn't sleep for ten years, but that's OK I guess... LOL.
Others in the Twittersphere, such as Twitter user @TaylorKatelynn, said that she and her mom were merely sitting in silence, and Alexa randomly burst into laughter. Thank goodness she had her mom there, because I seriously don't think I could bear that kind of horror by myself.
Don't get me wrong, though — I'm an avid scary movie fan, and I follow Dear David like nobody's business. But I think I'd need to sleep somewhere else after that... like, maybe forever. In all honesty, I had a similar situation with my Furbee back in 1999, and I had to take out the batteries and hide it in my closet. So I'm pretty sure that's where I'd be at, if I owned a terrifying laughing Alexa.
In terms of other creepy things that Alexa can do, that you might actually want her to do, is that she can step in as a personal fitness trainer. From providing guided workouts, meditation sessions, sleep assistance, positive encouragement, and WebMD diagnoses, Alexa can literally be your at-home holistic health guru. It's like, kind of weird. I'm not entirely sure if I'd want me workout buddy to be a talking electronic device, but some people love it, and I guess it's kind of a nice thing to have.
No matter what the circumstances are, if your Alexa has been randomly laughing when you're commanding her to do something else, or if it's out of pure silence, I would be terrified. Hopefully, it's just a temporary glitch that'll be fixed for good — but if not, I'd hide her in the closet... next to my damn Furbee.
