# News anchor sets off Alexa devices around San Diego ordering unwanted dollhouses. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 8, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616 "2017-01-08T10:53:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/1 "2017-01-08T10:53:19Z")
[Really, you couldn’t make this one up.](http://www.cw6sandiego.com/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/2 "2017-01-08T12:00:00Z")
Heh heh heh, that’s pretty great. They have an echo sitting in the reception area up at work, playing music. I walked by while it was playing a song I didn’t care for, and said “Alexa, shut up”, and to my delight it did. So, it’s been playing all manner of music since then, despite that it doesn’t know about some genres. I strongly suspect it’s connected to one of the company owners’ amazon account, but I have resisted the urge to order them a sex doll. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/3 "2017-01-08T12:34:49Z")
A data network which is wireless, unencrypted and is widely used by both electronic devices and people themselves is inherently insecure. It needs to be treated as such, and the creators of Alexa obviously did not. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2017, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/4 "2017-01-08T12:54:04Z")
[Moderating] I don’t really see a connection to the arts, here. Moving to MPSIMS. [Not moderating] Is the ability to buy things online without confirmation actually set to on by default? Why would anyone want it to be set to on? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/5 "2017-01-08T13:26:34Z")
How would Alexa know which dollhouse to order? There’s several brands and models to pick from. I can’t see how saying Alexa order a dollhouse would work. Maybe “Alexa order more soup” might work. Assuming that item was in your order history. Alexa could just reorder it. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/6 "2017-01-08T13:31:17Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > How would Alexa know which dollhouse to order? > > There’s several brands and models to pick from. > > I can’t see how saying Alexa order a dollhouse would work. > > Maybe “Alexa order more soup” might work. Assuming that item was in your order history. Alexa could just reorder it. Did you read the article? It didn’t work. It tried to order the doll house. Most likely it followed up with a request for specific information. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/7 "2017-01-08T14:14:46Z")
Okay, so these idiots in the broadcast area reporting on their own anchor and how he set off many Echos in their viewing audience. You’d think maybe they’d learn a lesson here and NOT use the word “Alexa” a hundred different times in their reporting of said story. In other words: The video in the link set off my Echo. Would it have killed them to refer to it as an Echo rather than Alexa? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/8 "2017-01-08T15:14:47Z")
Nah. It’s not nearly as funny that way. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/9 "2017-01-08T15:27:33Z")
If Echo Alexa Whatever cannot be set to accept commands only from specific person’s voices, then it is crappy software. Voice biometrics is where it’s at, including making passwords redundant for telephone banking. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/10 "2017-01-08T15:40:09Z")
Yea, who could have predicted this happening? Oh yea, anybody with a brain. ---
**Author:** ![Trancephalic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trancephalic/32/380_2.png) [@Trancephalic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trancephalic)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/11 "2017-01-08T17:17:29Z")
Alexa, self destruct in t-minus 10 ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/12 "2017-01-08T17:37:38Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > If Echo Alexa Whatever cannot be set to accept commands only from specific person’s voices, then it is crappy software. Voice biometrics is where it’s at, including making passwords redundant for telephone banking. Or it could just require a spoken pin. Which is already an option when you’re setting up voice ordering. Which is turned off by default. It’s only a crappy system insofar as people are willing to let it be crappy. The problem with voice recognition is that we have 5 people in my house who all want to use the Echo, and when we have babysitters/guests it’s the easiest way to turn on some of our Hue lights. We wouldn’t want any restrictions who could use it for anything but voice ordering, which seems like a terrible idea in the first place so I’ve left it off. I will admit to being a little annoyed at Amazon’s commercials showing all of the cool things you can do with Alexa, by having actors demonstrate the voice commands. It just makes my Echo, which is sitting right next to the TV, go nuts. One of the home automation features I’d like to set up is allowing the Echo to lock the doors, for, say, when I’m in bed and forgot to do it. But I don’t want someone shouting “Alexa, unlock the doors” through the window, and I’m not sure if connected locks can also require a pin. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/13 "2017-01-08T19:06:00Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Yea, who could have predicted this happening? > > Oh yea, anybody with a brain. Which is why safe guards are built into the system. You just turn them on if you want to use them. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/14 "2017-01-08T20:18:41Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > Alexa, self destruct in t-minus 10 I sure hope nobody built in the ability to have Alexa delete all files. [/Dilbert] ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/15 "2017-01-08T21:09:08Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > Okay, so these idiots in the broadcast area reporting on their own anchor and how he set off many Echos in their viewing audience. You’d think maybe they’d learn a lesson here and NOT use the word “Alexa” a hundred different times in their reporting of said story. > > In other words: The video in the link set off my Echo. Would it have killed them to refer to it as an Echo rather than Alexa? :smack: Change your wake word to Echo. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/16 "2017-01-08T21:28:52Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > Alexa, self destruct in t-minus 10 Thank you. This prompted me to try, “Alexa, initiate self-destruct sequence.” I laughed. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/17 "2017-01-08T22:21:42Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Did you read the article? It didn’t work. It tried to order the doll house. Most likely it followed up with a request for specific information. I skimmed over it. I saw that the orders didn’t actually go through. I would never use a device like this for ordering. I want to read and confirm the details before committing to any order. Alexa seems interesting. We may buy one later this year. It might be a fun gadget. ---
**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:** [January 8, 2017, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/18 "2017-01-08T23:20:40Z")
So what happens with these devices if you ask it for something illegal? Like: “Alexa, find me a contract assassin.” ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/19 "2017-01-09T01:02:40Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > So what happens with these devices if you ask it for something illegal? Like: “Alexa, find me a contract assassin.” _am waiting breathlessly for the answer to this one_ ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616/20 "2017-01-09T01:35:57Z")
This seems like the kind of thing that really only seems obvious in hindsight. I continue to forget to disable “Hey Siri” whenever I get a new iDevice, and it only takes one or two teleconferences at work before someone says something that sounds close enough to get my iPad or iPhone trying to do something. I then immediately shut off that particular problem. When Apple came out with “Hey Siri” I imagined shenanigans such as some joker finding his buddy’s phone and saying “Hey Siri, tell my wife that my girlfriend is pregnant” (thereby causing a text message to be sent to his wife). Nevertheless, having purchasing power hooked into these personal assistants raises things to a whole new level. Uncool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/news-anchor-sets-off-alexa-devices-around-san-diego-ordering-unwanted-dollhouses/776616.md?page=2)