Amazon Alexa (Echo)

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• Smart speakers Voice assistants (global market)
• Smart speakers Voice assistants (Russian market)

Amazon Echo is a smart device. It is controlled by voice and responds to the word "Alex."

Amazon Echo Device, (2016)

The device is a 24 cm high cylinder with seven built-in microphones at the top and acoustic speakers at the bottom. It is controlled by voice and responds to the code word "Alex." After saying this word, the user's speech is recorded and sent to the "cloud" for analysis and reaction through the Amazon Alexa project.

The device is capable of limited voice interaction with the user, playing music, creating task lists, installing alarm clocks, broadcasting podcasts, playing audio books and reading weather forecasts, traffic jams, etc. It can control several smart devices, representing a central node of a home automation system.

What does Alexa do?

When Amazon describes Alexa as a "personal assistant," they do not specify most of its capabilities. At the simplest level, Alexa receives and interprets voice commands, for example, to prompt time or read news headlines.

But in order for all this to be possible, a lot of interesting things happen in the background. First, your commands are recorded and sent over the Internet to Amazon for processing. This whole process takes a split second, and it is the result of many years of difficult work that Amazon developers have successfully carried out.

Much more than you think

In fact, Alexa is only the "face" of a powerful and serious intellectual system. Every time you talk to Alexa, the recorded command is stored in Amazon for at least a few months.

Artificial intelligence systems like Alexa rely on huge amounts of data that allow them to "learn" and improve. Alexa is constantly self-perfecting, analyzing and testing all these records. Amazon developers also use these entries to expand Alexa's functionality: for example, reporting changes to a football match account or offering time to watch a movie.

Using more than 100 million devices worldwide, Alexa collects and processes a huge amount of information every day. This is why Amazon is able to improve the capabilities of its artificial intelligence so quickly.

Extensible Platform

To make technology more useful, Amazon also allows other companies and individuals to create functionality for Alexa. Known as "Alexa Skills," such extensions are similar to smartphone applications that perform specific tasks.

2021

Alexa invited a 10-year-old girl to insert a coin into the socket

Alexa invited a 10-year-old girl to insert a coin into the socket. This became known on December 28, 2021.

The proposal appeared after the girl asked Alexa to "find the test."

Amazon urgently updated its Alexa voice assistant after artificial intelligence recommended that a 10-year-old girl touch the teeth of a half-inserted charger plug with a coin.

Connect the charger for phone about half to the outlet, then touch the penny to open contacts, "the virtual assistant said.

According to the girl's mother on Twitter, they recently performed various physical exercises, and the girl wanted to find something else. It was then that a "smart" column offered to take part in the test that she "found on the Web."

Dangerous activity, known as the "penny trial," began to gain popularity in TikTok and other social networks about a year ago. Many metals conduct electricity, and their insertion into electrical sockets under voltage can cause electric shock, fire and other damage.

The girl, according to her mother, was "too smart to do something like that" and did not go about artificial intelligence. According to representatives of Amazon, the problem was fixed immediately after^[1] became aware of it^[2].

Pre-integration with the 3rd and 4th generation Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit platform

Qualcomm Technologies and Amazon announced a joint project of companies to pre-integrate the Alexa Custom Assistant service with the Qualcomm Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit platform. More details here.

2019

How to send soundless voice commands to digital assistants using a laser

On November 5, 2019, it became known that a team of specialists from Tokyo Telecommunication University (Japan) and the University of Michigan (USA ) developed a method that allows digital assistants to send sonorless voice commands using a laser.

It all began with the fact that Takeshi Sugawara, a researcher at Tokyo Telecommunication University, discovered his strange behavior. iPad As it turned out, when exposed to a microphone tablet with a powerful laser, for unknown reasons, he perceived it as sound. Changing the intensity of the sinusoid laser with a frequency of 1000 vibrations per second over time, Sugawara created a high-frequency sound wave, which the microphone iPad captured and transformed into an electric signal.

Six months later, Sugawara and a team of researchers at the University of Michigan turned the above-described photoacoustic effect into something more serious. Scientists have learned using a laser to "talk" with any device capable of receiving voice commands, including with, smartphones smart columns Amazon Echo,, Google Home devices with support for video calls Facebook Portal , etc. Researchers were able to send them light commands at a distance of hundreds of meters and use them to open garages, shop Internet in, etc.

As revealed during the experiments, if you direct a laser to the microphone and change its intensity at an exact frequency, the light will somehow cause the microphone membrane to oscillate at the same frequency. Over time, researchers changed the intensity of the laser so that it coincided with the frequency of the human voice. As a result, the microphone transformed light waves into an electric signal like sound waves, and received sonorless voice commands. If you use an infrared laser, then the attack on the microphone of the devices will not only be unheard of, but also invisible^[3].

McDonald's accepts job applications through Amazon and Google voice assistants

At the end of September 2019, McDonald's announced a new initiative in which owners of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant devices can send job applications through voice assistants. The company sees this program, called Apply Thru, as another way to attract young people to work. More details here.

Amazon Echo has a feature to turn off voice "wiretapping" voice commands

Users of Amazon Echo smart speakers were able to turn off the function of listening to their messages by company employees. Amazon also allowed you to delete messages that were sent for processing.

Users can turn off the transfer of audio files to Amazon employees on their own in the settings of a column or smartphone, The Verge reports in August.

Users can also now delete messages if they were previously sent for processing. Nevertheless, the service will continue to collect data and users must independently control this process.

Amazon Smart Columns Collect Schoolchildren at Night

On August 8, 2019, it became known that Chinese schoolchildren are used in the production of Amazon smart columns with numerous violations of labor laws. About this the Guardian told factory workers. The publication also received information from documents intended only for internal use at Foxconn (Amazon's electronics assembly partner). More details here.

Amazon voice assistant began giving advice from the Ministry of Health

In mid-July 2019, the UK National Health Service (NHS) announced a collaboration with Amazon. Thanks to their joint efforts, Alexa voice assistant will be able to provide reliable medical advice to users. More details here.

Amazon: recordings of conversations with smart columns are stored forever

In early July 2019, Amazon officially confirmed that it does not delete voice recordings and Alexa customer data after talking with a virtual assistant. If users do not manually delete them, conversations with smart columns can be stored indefinitely, that is, forever.

A request to clarify Alexa's work with personal data was transmitted by US Senator Chris Coons after a CNET investigation. In May 2019, CNET accused Amazon of storing text transcripts of voice recordings on servers even after users deleted their recordings. In response to the senator's request, Amazon clarified what data it stores and what it does not.

Amazon officially confirmed that it does not delete voice recordings and Alexa customer data after talking to virtual assistant

However, CNET suspects that transcripts of negotiations with the voice assistant are not removed from all Amazon servers. Moreover, sometimes this data is transmitted to third parties: for example, when a user accesses a third-party service, calling a taxi or ordering pizza.

the company saves records of other requests: for example, when a user asks Alexa to set an alarm for several days, create a reminder or mark a future appointment in the calendar. As Amazon representatives explained, with the deletion of the audio file, the data associated with it will be deleted, which is why Alexa will not be able to fulfill the task assigned to it.

The company explained why it uses transcripts: these data help train and improve Alexa's machine learning systems, as well as provide customers with a direct report on its work. In addition, Amazon confirmed that the system stops recording as soon as the client stops talking, as indicated by the blue indicator on the Echo device.

Although the senator was pleased with the company's response, he will continue to work in this direction to resolve the remaining issues.^[4]

Amazon Smart Columns Now Protect Against Thieves

In mid-May 2019, Amazon's smart columns learned to protect the house from thieves and fires. The Alexa Guard feature was announced, which allows Echo smart speakers to detect signs of an emergency - a voice assistant left in a special mode now responds to the sound of broken glass and other signs of thieves invading the apartment and sends a notification to the owner. More details here.

Integration in Poly Voyager 4200 UC

On April 18, 2019, Plantronic announced that in order to help employees be more productive in the office and in motion, the Voyager 4200 UC headset will be equipped with Alexa voice assistant. More details here.

Thousands of Amazon employees listen to what people say to voice assistant

On April 10, 2019, it became known that thousands of Amazon employees overheard users of Alexa voice assistant. The company specifically recruits such employees to improve the performance of its service.

A separate command listens to voice messages recorded by Amazon Echo smart columns in homes and offices. Seven people who were involved in such a program told Bloomberg about this.

Amazon staff and freelance employees around the world are engaged in decoding and analyzing speech recorded by smart speakers. In particular, such workers are in the USA, Costa Rica, India and Romania. They work 9 hours a day and process up to 1000 audio recordings during their shift.

Amazon has hired thousands of employees worldwide to work to improve Alexa voice assistant

With all employees who listen to users' voice messages, Amazon enters into a non-disclosure agreement. The company confirmed to the publication the existence of such personnel, but assured that customers are guaranteed complete security and confidentiality of data.

We decrypt a small sample of Alexa voice recordings to improve the quality of service. This information helps us train our speech recognition systems so that Alexa can better understand you and work equally well for all our customers, an Amazon representative told Bloomberg.

Company specialists have to listen to a variety of recordings - from a girl singing poorly in the shower to a crying child who calls for help. Two employees heard screams that they assumed occurred during the sexual abuse. This was reported to the management, but then did not take any measures and pointed out to subordinates that "interfering in such things is not the task of Amazon." 

Sometimes teams encounter frightening or traumatic records, so they are provided with psychological assistance. Nevertheless, the company does not seek to intervene in such situations, calling for such a policy and its employees.

For employees listening to Amazon Echo recordings, they created a chat where they can ask colleagues for help in parsing slurred phrases or discuss funny recordings.

Building in Budapest, where the Amazon office is located, in which employees listening to Alexa users work

In advertising materials and data privacy documents, Amazon does not directly indicate that people listen to recordings of conversations with the Alexa service.

We use your requests for Alexa to teach our speech recognition and natural language understanding systems, "says Amazon in the FAQ.

In Alexa settings, you can disable the use of voice recordings to develop new features. Bloomberg journalists received a screenshot from a program that Amazon employees work with to listen to user recordings. Judging by this image, the employees of the department do not have any data that would allow them to identify who owns the messages. However, together with the record, the employee receives the subscriber's account number, his device serial number, as well as the person's name - these data may be enough to determine the identity of the user.

Sometimes employees hear a discussion of personal data of users, including bank ones. In this case, they mark the dialogs as "critical data" and move to the next file.

According to an informed interlocutor of Bloomberg, the Alexa service sends random small voice recordings to Amazon for analysis. Some employees are instructed to compare what the voice assistant recognized with what the user really said, as well as comment on the effectiveness of the interaction between the machine and the person. Sometimes Alexa is wrong, especially if it encounters new slang, dialect or recognizes a language other than English.^[5]

2018

The court ordered Amazon to disclose the data that the smart column recorded during the murder of two women

On November 9, 2018, a court in New Hampshire (USA) ordered Amazon to transfer audio recordings from an Amazon Echo column located in the house where two women were killed. Amazon said they will provide information only if they receive legally significant documents.

In January 2017, the bodies of Christina Sullivan and Jenna Pelligrini with multiple stab wounds were discovered under the porch of a house in Farmington. Timothy Verill, a suspect in the murder, was taken into custody in November 2017, but pleaded not guilty and will appear in court in May 2019.

The court ordered Amazon to transfer audio recordings from an Amazon Echo column located in the house where two women were killed

After searching the house, the police took the Amazon Echo smart column. Prosecutors believe that there may be records made between January 27 and 29, 2017 and stored on Amazon servers, which "contain evidence of a crime against Miss Sullivan, including an attack and the possible movement of the body from the kitchen." Amazon was also required to provide information about any devices that were associated with the column at that time.

In a statement to Vox, an Amazon spokesman noted that they would not "disclose user information until an appropriate valid and mandatory requirement is provided," and that "Amazon objects to redundant or otherwise not unacceptable requirements as such." At the same time, the company did not say whether it would transfer the data if a corresponding petition was filed in court or would challenge the decision.^[6][7]

Recording porn in a brothel using an Amazon column

Sheri's Ranch, one of Nevada's most famous brothels, the only state in the United States where prostitution is completely legalized, organized a video recording room in which customers can shoot their sexual adventures using Alexa's voice assistant. This was reported in August 2018 by The Sun.

In order to begin the video recording, the client needs to give Amazon the command standing in the room of the "smart" Echo column: "Alexa, begin the porn star experience!" (translated from the English. "Alexa, launch the porn star mode!"). After that, in a specially equipped room, light-tight curtains are automatically lowered, lighting is turned on and video shooting begins.

Sheri's Ranch, one of Nevada's most famous brothels, the only state in the United States where prostitution is completely legalized, organized a video recording room in which customers can shoot their sexual adventures using Alexa's voice assistant

This is our most innovative offer to date. No crew and installation, only the client and his chosen courtesan. They themselves are responsible for directing and play the main roles, "the hostess of the institution Dena told The Sun.

Four cameras are installed in the room, including on the ceiling, which carry out video shooting from different angles. The survey angle changes the computer connected to the system in an arbitrary order. He automatically edits the video after the shooting is completed and saves it to the SD card that the client receives.

One of Sheri's Ranch employees named Alice said that visitors to the institution are often asked to record them on video, but earlier this was not easy to do, since they had to use a smartphone.

Now you can not worry about anything and just enjoy great sex. The video for us will be automatically shot by a room equipped with technology, "the courtesan added.

There is no fixed price for creating porn videos. As the owner of the brothel explained, all the girls are volunteer workers, so everyone can request as much for the service as they consider necessary.^[8]

Integration with KMS Lighthouse

KMS Lighthouse, a manufacturer of knowledge management software, announced on June 22, 2018 the possibility of integrating its Knowledge Management System Lighthouse knowledge management solution with Alexa, Amazon's voice assistant. More details here.

Amazon Echo - the security risk you invite to your home?

When Amazon Echo "secretly" recorded one woman's personal conversation and emailed it to one of her friends, the issue of smart devices and security was finally brought to public attention. Despite the harmlessness of this conversation, the woman deliberately did not instruct her device to record her conversation, and even more so to someone to send it to^[9]

After investigating this incident, Amazon engineers found that it was not a hack, but a strange combination of events and keywords that were perceived by the device as a guide to action. In fact, the always-on Alexa smart assistant built into the device "heard" four registered commands that were spoken during a conversation in the same room.

Amazon was quick to clarify that such a sequence of events was extremely rare, but similar situations could still arise in the future.

So, how can you protect yourself from this situation with your own Amazon Echo device?

How to avoid this incident with your own Amazon Echo device

Alexa constantly records and analyzes the conversations of people around him, waiting for certain "trigger" keywords, which are commands for him to perform certain actions. One such word is "Alexa." This means that the only way to ensure that your personal conversations and personal data are not collected is to completely get rid of this smart device.

If this option doesn't suit you, there are a number of tips that will help you use your own Amazon Echo more securely.

1. Don't share your address book. When you first set up Alexa, you'll be prompted to share your address book with it from your mobile phone. Then you can dictate messages and emails to your friends using Alexa. If you don't share your address book, Alexa won't be able to "accidentally" send personal records to your contacts. If you have already shared your address book with the device, you will need to contact Amazon and ask them to delete this data.

2. Increase the volume. When Alexa determines a command, the device usually tells you what it is now starting to do. For example, ask Alexa to lose some song, and you will hear "Now playing...." If you put the volume level low enough, then you will not hear these phrases of the device about what it begins to do. Make sure you set enough volume to hear these phrases.

3. Turn off the sound if you don't. The only way Alexa will stop "eavesdropping" is to turn on sonorless mode by pressing the button on the side. In this case, the built-in microphone will be turned off, and the light ring at the top of the device will turn red. The only thing that later, if necessary, you first need to turn on your device if you want to give him some kind of command.

4. Change your word for "wake up." Echo constantly expects its "awakening" word-command - by default it is the word "Alexa." Just in case you can change this word, but we recommend that you choose such a word so that it cannot be named by mistake. As such a word, it is better not to use words such as "Amazon," "Echo" or "Puffinstuff."

5. Choose words carefully. Amazon Echo is like a surveillance device that collects potentially sensitive personal data, whether you want it or not. Therefore, you should be very careful when choosing words that you pronounce next to your device (or other smart devices) if you do not want your secrets to fall into the hands of outsiders.

Church started using Alexa voice assistant for prayers

At the end of May 2018, it became known that the Church of England began to use Alexa's voice assistant to read prayers, answer questions on Christian topics and help users find information about upcoming church events and their venues.

According to the website of the Church of England, in order to take advantage of these opportunities of Alexa, you need to give the voice assistant a command to open a section of the Church of England.

The Church of England offered to use an audio helper for prayers

After this phrase, the application will offer prayer resources and will be able to read various prayers, including "Our Father," morning and evening prayers, blessings before eating and others. Also, the service will be able to expand the knowledge of users about the Christian faith and answer questions about the Bible, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, the Church of England, etc.

In addition, with Alexa you can find out about the location of churches and the events taking place in them.

The press service of the Church of England noted that the emergence of new opportunities in Alexa's AI assistant is only the first stage of a large-scale project implemented jointly with church publishers Digital and Church House Publishing, as well as developers of Aimer Media Ltd. In the future, it is planned to introduce the same features in smart columns Google Home and Apple HomePod.^[10]

We are very glad to present today new opportunities of Alexa by means of which parishioners and those who are interested in questions of belief will be able to unite good luck in the way, convenient for them, and in time, convenient for them, - the archbishop York John Sentamu (John Sentamu) who showed possibilities of Alexa in the video of YouTube said.

According to the archbishop, home smart devices are used in a quarter of British households, so after the transformation of the national websites of the Church of England, this fast-growing direction was identified as a priority for development.^[11]

Researchers learned to send Amazon Echo unheard-of teams for a person

UC Berkeley researchers have presented a method for sending voice assistants hidden commands that are unheard of for humans. With his help, the researchers managed to introduce hidden commands for the Amazon Echo smart audio clip directly into the music record or spoken text and force it to make online purchases. According to the researchers, no evidence of the use of the method they developed in real life was found, but this is only a matter of time, writes the New York Times^[12].

The attack is based on the difference in speech recognition between man and artificial intelligence. Speech recognition systems typically translate each sound heard into a letter, from which words and phrases are then composed. By making minor changes to the audio file, researchers managed to replace the sounds that the system was supposed to hear with sounds elusive to the human ear, which acquired a new meaning after translating them into words and phrases.

According to Amazon representatives, the company has taken appropriate measures to ensure the security of its smart column. Google also assures that the Assistant voice assistant has features that block undetectable audio commands. The products of both companies implement voice recognition technologies that prevent the execution of certain commands if they were not spoken by the voice of the device owner.

2015

Amazon has been developing Echo and the Amazon Alexa assistant service at its Lab126 subsidiary since 2010.

Since June 23, 2015, the product is available to everyone in the United States. In the UK and Germany - since September 2016. Amazon Alexa voice assistant can be added to third-party devices and supports integration with third-party services.

The device and service Amazon Alexa perceive and communicate only in English.

Echo is often called a robot, but in general this thing is more like an ordinary vase. A computer is hidden inside, constantly connected to the Internet and able to recognize the human voice. Echo listens to what they say around, but does nothing until he hears the code word. Then he begins to analyze what a person says and tries to fulfill what is asked of him: this is how he plays music, searches for answers to questions, makes purchases in online stores, quotes jokes, etc. On the market, this device has been the third year and during this time has become a bestseller, selling millions of copies. There are, of course, analogues (for example, Google Home, as well as "assistants" in smartphones: Siri, Cortana and others). when buying a device, a citizen actually enters into an agreement with the company servicing it (in this case, Amazon) for the provision of information services. Therefore, the information that the company collects turns out to be simply "consumables": it is not protected by law, it can be provided at least to the police, used as evidence in court hearings, etc.^[13]

Notes

• Product information is presented as of January 11, 2017.