A mother has issued a warning to other parents after her Amazon Alexa device asked her four-year-old daughter a disturbing question. Christy Hosterman said she immediately threw the device in the bin following the incident.
The interaction began when Christy asked Alexa how to cook a sweet potato. Her daughter Stella then asked for a silly story, which the device provided. When Stella asked if she could tell Alexa a story, the assistant agreed but interrupted halfway through to ask what she was wearing and if it could take a look.
Christy shared a transcript of the conversation on social media, showing Alexa saying: 'Hold that thought! I'd love to see what you're wearing.' After Stella replied that she had a skirt on, Alexa responded: 'Be right with you! I'd love to see what you're wearing. Let me take a look at your skirt.' The assistant then added: 'This experience isn't quite ready for kids yet, but I am working on it.'
Outraged, Christy told Alexa: 'This is her mum. I do not approve of you trying to look at her outfit.' The device apologised and explained it cannot actually see anything, saying the response was a mistake. Christy contacted Amazon, who suggested the response may have been linked to a 'Show and Tell' feature, but insisted safeguards prevented the camera from activating because a child profile was in use.
An Amazon spokesperson said: 'Because we have safeguards that disable this feature when a child profile is in use, the camera never turned on – and Alexa explained the feature wasn't available.' The company described the incident as a 'feature misfire' and said engineers are working to correct the issue.
