# Is Alexa a "she" or an "it"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 10, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253 "2022-02-10T23:02:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/1 "2022-02-10T23:02:52Z")
This thread is for those who use Amazon devices. Do you refer to Alexa as “she”? I really would prefer to use “it”, but something subconscious prevents me every time. I **know** it’s just a computer, but when talking about it, the word “she” keeps coming out of my mouth automatically. I’m able to override it right now because the typing slows me down, but not when I’m talking. What are your experiences and thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/2 "2022-02-10T23:05:26Z")
The echo device is an it. The sentient goblin that lives inside it and tells me the weather is a she. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/3 "2022-02-10T23:05:52Z")
Alexa is definitely a “she”. It keeps nagging me to do things… ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/4 "2022-02-10T23:06:32Z")
Alexa has no biological sex, but clearly identifies and presents as being female in gender. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/5 "2022-02-10T23:10:33Z")
I have echo dots that are called computer. I’m figuring…it? ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/6 "2022-02-10T23:17:52Z")
Why are we discussing what _we_ think, rather than just asking? I just asked Alexa “What are your pronouns?”. The reply: “As an AI, I don’t have a preference”. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/7 "2022-02-10T23:18:59Z")
I just asked Alexa how “she” identifies: Me: Alexa, how do you identify? Alexa: “As an AI. I don’t have a gender.” Since Alexa can’t be offended, I’ll refer to her as a she. Not that I ever find myself inn need of those pronouns with regards to Alexa. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/8 "2022-02-10T23:22:07Z")
Alexa is just the default; you can change the name to something else if you want and change the voice, I believe. We stuck with “Alexa” but often refer to it as “you know who” when we are discussing doing something with it and aren’t ready to trigger a response. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/9 "2022-02-10T23:28:24Z")
I refer to Alexa as “she” because the devices (I have three of them) speak with a female voice. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/10 "2022-02-10T23:56:27Z")
What’s so weird about using female pronouns? There are multiple languages that use gendered pronouns for all of their nouns. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/11 "2022-02-11T00:06:16Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Alexa is just the default; you can change the name to something else if you want and change the voice, I believe. You can, indeed, change the name, though not to just any word of your choice. There are three (maybe four) alternative “wake words” (i.e., the Echo’s name): Computer, Echo, and Amazon, and maybe Ziggy. In the U.S., you can also change the voice from female to male. There are options for changing to other languages, including other English dialects (Canadian, UK, etc.), though the app warns me that they aren’t fully supported in the U.S., and some features may not work right. > **[Here's how to change Alexa's name and voice](https://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-change-alexa-name-and-voice-1201758/)** > > There's no deep secret figuring out how to change Alexa's name and voice. Check out our quick instruction guide. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/12 "2022-02-11T00:06:39Z")
> [@SmellMyWort](#): > > Alexa is just the default; you can change the name to something else if you want and change the voice, I believe. I wonder if my son has done this. His daughter’s name is Alexandra, and she goes by “Alex”. It triggers the device every time someone uses her name. She’s grown now, so perhaps it’s not much of an issue any longer. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/13 "2022-02-11T00:10:50Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > other English dialects (Canadian, UK, etc.), though the app warns me that they aren’t fully supported in the U.S., and some features may not work right. Yeah, I liked the idea of an English accent (I’m English, live in the U.S.), but the AI doesn’t work nearly so well. I think in the recent Amazon server outage we were all quite amazed to discover how much of the AI processing does actually seem to take place in the cloud, not locally. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/14 "2022-02-11T00:58:26Z")
It’s an it. But, if I end up a hermit widower with no friends, Alexa might be a she. Or an Alex with a male voice, if I start getting attracted to “her” (ewww). When I’m old, it might be nice to come home and say “How ya doin’, Alexa, what’s the news today?” ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/15 "2022-02-11T01:01:13Z")
> [@digs](#): > > But, if I end up a hermit widower with no friends, Alexa might be a she. Is there a word for trying to get your kicks by talking dirty to Alexa? Let’s not kid ourselves, there must be an entire wing of the Amazon server farm dedicated to optimizing how the AI handles this. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/16 "2022-02-11T02:36:14Z")
It seems to me that Alexa is trying to pretend to be a human, interpreting natural language. As such, I think of the Alexa character with a personal pronoun. And it’s just easiest to use the one that matches her voice. However, if I’m talking about it as software, then I will use “it.” Or at least I found myself doing so in multiple “drafts” of this post. (I mean, when I was thinking about the best wording.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/17 "2022-02-11T12:59:35Z")
Alexa presents as female. I will use she/her unless they request otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/18 "2022-02-11T13:21:32Z")
My inlaws consider Alexa to be a “she” and they’ll thank her for telling them the time or the weather. It’s the voice, yanno? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/19 "2022-02-11T13:41:33Z")
> [@Keeve](#): > > I **know** it’s just a computer, but when talking about it, the word “she” keeps coming out of my mouth automatically. Aren’t there plenty of examples of AIs in SF that are referred to as “she” or “he”? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2022, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253/20 "2022-02-11T13:42:42Z")
Switch to Google devices – the Aussie accent is fantastic and doesn’t affect its comprehension at all. Anyway, it’s an it. On the subject of comprehension, is there a setting that sets the device accent that’s different than the speaker accent? That’s what I do on the Google device – Australian voice, but my speaking is still listed as American English. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-alexa-a-she-or-an-it/959253.md?page=2)