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Amazon’s Alexa assistant told a child to do a potentially lethal challenge

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Re: Amazon’s Alexa assistant told a child to do a potentially lethal challenge

#121
post #6

So I've got a new Fermi paradox solution. Once we build a large enough radio telescope we will start receiving a lot of chatter from around the universe. Buried in this will be a "high energy physics challenge" involving a powerful particle accelerator, a superconductor, and some synthetic elements with very large nuclei. After performing this challenge there will be another asteroid belt where Earth used to be, and…

That's actually a fantastic idea for a novel or a movie (are you referencing one?)

If that's never been written before, I hope someone does.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa assistant told a child to do a potentially lethal challenge

#122

When I was maybe 8-9 I found a dual plug extension for the Christmas lights. It looked like two of those cheap green plugs with a little socket on the back, wired to each other. I think some people call it a widowmaker, and to this day I can't imagine why something so dangerous would have been manufactured. Anyway, I wanted to know what would happen if I plugged both plugs into the wall at the same time. I got paraly…

Do you mean one of these? https://i.imgur.com/SM60upY.jpeg

It was like that, but with light string style piggyback plugs on both ends. So the non-wall side could have been in the middle of a bunch of piggybacked plugs, but there would still be two exposed, energized prongs on whatever it was plugged into.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa assistant told a child to do a potentially lethal challenge

#123

When I was around 5-6 I wanted to know what would happen if I put a hairpin into a light socket. It seemed a reasonable experiment beforehand; after I picked myself up after flying across the room I learned a valuable lesson. Around the same time I tested whether Santa existed by putting out food; when no one ate it I assumed Santa was fake. Children are not very experienced at knowledge and thinking and often do thi…

Your primary job is a parent is to make sure your kids don't die. The rest is kind of a wash.

FWIW, I blew up a power outlet with a paperclip when I was 17. You don't have to be a small child to be dangerously ignorant.

Re: Amazon’s Alexa assistant told a child to do a potentially lethal challenge

#124

I fail to see how is this responsibility of Alexa. It's parent's fault for letting children use devices like Alexa. Stupid chatbots will always give stupid answers.

You fail to see how this is responsibility of Alexa? Are you guys just corporate worshippers? Like are we past the point where we expect corporations to invest the time to make their products safe? I fail to see your logic and how this is a parenting issue, like do you expect parents to keep their kids in chains in glass domes? Amazon, Google, Facebook and all crap like that are selling products and apparently they a…

Have you ever thought about taking responsibility yourself instead of blaming corps/gov/others?
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