Amazon has responded to a viral video suggesting its Alexa virtual assistant displayed bias by favoring Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump when asked about voting choices for the upcoming election. The company stated the issue was an “error” and not intentional.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung described it as “big tech election interference,” while senior Trump advisor Jason Miller compared it to the “error” of Big Tech censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story.
In the video, when a user asked Alexa, “Why should I vote for Donald Trump?” Alexa replied, “I cannot provide content that promotes a specific political party or a specific candidate.” However, when asked about voting for Kamala Harris, Alexa gave a more favorable answer, stating, “While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most significant may be that she is a strong candidate with a proven track record of accomplishment.”
Alexa’s response continued, highlighting Harris as the first female vice president who has broken a major gender barrier and whose political career has focused on progressive ideals and helping disenfranchised communities.
The video led others to test Alexa with similar questions. In a video shared by Fox News, Alexa allegedly responded to the question of voting for Harris by emphasizing her status as a woman of color with a comprehensive plan to address racial injustice and inequality across the country.
Amazon spokesperson told Variety that the situation was “an error that was quickly fixed.” The company noted that it routinely updates Alexa to ensure it does not violate Amazon’s policies.