AMAZON'S VOICE ASSISTANT ALEXA GETS FOOLED BY A PET PARROT!

Amazon's smart voice assistant Alexa can be so easily fooled. A pet parrot from London made an online order, mimicking his owner after he had overheard conversations. The parrot named Buddy used a phrase with the keyword 'Alexa' to trigger the assistant to respond.

While it is not clear how the parrot went on to place an order, Alexa went on responding to the parrot eventually placing the order for what the assistant recognised as golden gift boxes. The 39-year-old owner, Corinne Pretorius who received the order worth 10 Pounds for gift boxes assumed it was her husband or eight-year-old son who had placed the order. Pretorious said "I couldn't believe it when I realised that it was Buddy who had used Alexa to make an Amazon order. We've had the (Amazon) Echo for about four months and I use it to play music or make to-do lists but I've never ordered anything online."

An Amazon spokesman said customers using Alexa are asked to confirm a purchase by saying 'yes'.

He added: "You can also manage your shopping settings in the Alexa app, such as turning off voice purchasing or requiring a confirmation code before every order.

Thank goodness orders that are placed with Alexa for physical products are eligible for free return.