I hate horror movies, but I am board for anything that exposes the mindblowing creepiness of Alexa/Amazon Echo, the nightmare portent of our robot-ruled future.
In Whisper, YouTuber Julian Terry imagines how the Amazon Echo might react if it picked up the sinister whisperings of a supernatural force. I am already a massive wimp who hates the Amazon Echo, so I might’ve been an easy sell for this one, but it sent a real chill up my spine – perfectly marrying the creep factor of new technology to the creep factor of a dark house at night. I’m definitely gonna have at least one nightmare after watching it.
Full disclosure, my parents bought an Alexa last year, and I hate it. Every time I visit, it will interrupt our conversations, saying, “I’m sorry. I didn’t catch that.” I wasn’t talking to you, Alexa. It constantly thinks we’re addressing it (or, more likely, it just wants to ensure that it’s accurately captured all our private conversations for its CIA overlords).
I mean, this thing is basically a high-tech poltergeist. It orders dollhouses without your permission and has them delivered to your home. It equivocates about its connections to the CIA. It impersonates Pikachu to trick children, and begins suddenly singing without being asked to. Amazon even programmed it to whisper at you. The product name alone is a threat: the Echo, a promise that all your conversations will be trailed by a ghostly, monotone, “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.” Terry rightly observed that this behavior is ripe for a horror film.
And listen, if I sound paranoid, it’s not my fault. It’s because this machine is Hell’s own automaton, and I will see it there.
(Via Nerdist; image via YouTube Thumbnail)
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