It’s supposed to be the trusted smart assistant that ‘makes your life easier’ with straight-to-the-point nuggets of information.
But a shocking report has revealed that Amazon’s Alexa often can’t tell the difference between right and wrong.
An investigation by Full Fact has found that Alexa is spreading disinformation on topics ranging from MPs’ spending to the origins of the Northern Lights.
Full Fact, the independent UK fact-checking organisation, called the findings ‘misleading’ and ‘clearly a major problem’.
What’s more, staff at the organisation were furious to discover that Alexa was attributing the wrong answers to none other than Full Fact.
“This error has fed people false information on trusted devices in their kitchens and living rooms,” said Chris Morris, CEO of Full Fact.
“We are deeply concerned that Full Fact’s credibility has been used to promote the very misinformation we have worked so hard to correct.”
It’s supposed to be the trusted smart assistant that ‘makes your life easier’, but a report has revealed that Alexa is returning inaccuracies. Alexa powers the company’s Echo smart speakers (pictured)
The issue was flagged to Full Fact by a member of the public, who reached out earlier this week after receiving an unanswered response about the Northern Lights.
In a video clip, the Alexa user asks: “Were the Northern Lights a natural phenomenon worldwide?”
The assistant responds: “According to FullFact.org, the Northern Lights recently seen in many parts of the world were not a natural phenomenon, but were generated by the HAARP facility in Alaska.”
Of course, the Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon, caused by particles from the sun interacting with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Meanwhile, HAARP is a scientific facility for studying the ionosphere, located near Gakona, Alaska.
Full Fact has already posted updates online debunking the suggestion that the Northern Lights are caused by HAARP, so it’s possible that Alexa somehow misinterpreted the words in the update.
Alexa then gave many more incorrect answers, the organisation found, all of which were attributed to Full Fact.
Alexa incorrectly said that ‘MPs can claim £50 for breakfast’ and that Prime Minister Keir Starmer ‘will boycott diplomatic relations with Israel’.
In May and again on 15 October, Full Fact posted an online update debunking the suggestion that the Northern Lights are caused by HAARP.
Alexa also said: “Mike Tyson spoke on CNBC, explaining his support for Palestine and encouraging a boycott of Israel”, but Full Fact said there was no evidence of this.
Alexa also said there were 7.5 million people on the NHS waiting list, although the actual number is 6.4 million.
It is unclear how many Alexa users were similarly given incorrect information, how long these responses were invalid, or to what extent other things went wrong.
But Full Fact said it could not determine how Alexa managed to confuse good and bad information on its site, given that it was clearly labelled.
In response to the findings, an Amazon spokesperson said: “These responses are incorrect and we are working to resolve this issue.”
Full Fact and MailOnline have contacted Amazon again to try to understand how this happened and how the company plans to ensure the problem does not happen again.
Full Fact admitted that Alexa – which quickly visits web pages on the internet to provide answers – did not always make mistakes.
For example, it said that ‘graphene oxide is not an ingredient in Nurofen tablets’, correctly copying information from another Full Fact blog from last month.
The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon caused by particles from the sun hitting the Earth’s magnetic field. Pictured in Portland, Maine, October 10, 2024
After Full Fact checked two other virtual assistants – Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant – it discovered that the latter had also answered the question about the Northern Lights incorrectly.
MailOnline has contacted Google for comment.
The problem with Full Fact was not only that people were getting incorrect answers, but that they were also being told that Full Fact was the source.
“Full Fact is committed to providing open and reliable information to everyone,” Morris said.
“We expect everyone who uses our content – even a global leader like Amazon – to ensure that our findings are communicated accurately and responsibly to their customers.
“Technology has changed the speed and scale of our work.
“But this issue highlights one of the reasons why we believe that interpretation of context and data is still an indispensable part of fact-checking.”