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Amazon's Alexa Will No Longer Tolerate Sexist Abuse

LowDown

LowDown

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Amazon's Alexa software has now changed its response to a certain stimulus -- namely, calling it sexist names -- from "thanks for the feedback" to "I'm not going to respond to that." Further, the device will also respond to the question of whether it's a feminist with: "I am a feminist. As is anyone who believes in bridging the inequality between men and women in society."
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Ah, what's next, then? Sex robots that charge their owners with rape?

I would not use such language even in private, but if I want a machine to police my speech I'll get one specifically designed for the purpose, and one that will work with me and not against me, not one sneaked in on me in an ordinary electronic device by the totalitarians at Amazon.

Some feminists love this, of course. Like I said, totalitarians.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazons-alexa-will-no-longer-tolerate-sexist-abuse/
 
I'm at a loss for words. Lowdown truly thinks it's totalitarian that artificial intelligence won't respond to sexist language. I couldn't imagine the sorrow he felt when he learned women are not required to be barefoot cooking in the kitchen.
 
LowDown said:
Ah, what's next, then? Sex robots that charge their owners with rape?

I would not use such language even in private, but if I want a machine to police my speech I'll get one specifically designed for the purpose, and one that will work with me and not against me, not one sneaked in on me in an ordinary electronic device by the totalitarians at Amazon.

Some feminists love this, of course. Like I said, totalitarians.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/amazons-alexa-will-no-longer-tolerate-sexist-abuse/
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Some now it is a $99 cuss jar?
 
People got 98% of the internet for their porn diet and someone is complaining about Amazon's Alexa that won't participate with high school boys saying naughty words.

. Oh, the humanity! And all the passengers screaming around here. I told you; it – I can't even talk to people, their friends are on there! Ah! It's... it... it's a... ah! I... I can't talk, ladies and gentlemen
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To keep the hate flowing and the deflections to the hot mess currently in DC., Cons need a new bogeyman to hate daily.

Today's bogeyman is Alexa.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
To keep the hate flowing and the deflections to the hot mess currently in DC., Cons need a new bogeyman to hate daily.

Today's bogeyman is Alexa.
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:roll: Believe it or not SenorXm/Sirius, people can talk about more things that just Trump. Amazing I know! But true none the less!
 
CMPancake said:
I'm at a loss for words. Lowdown truly thinks it's totalitarian that artificial intelligence won't respond to sexist language. I couldn't imagine the sorrow he felt when he learned women are not required to be barefoot cooking in the kitchen.
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I can't imagine why you're trying to compare machines to real women.

And I do see part of Lowdown's point: I don't need a machine to police my speech or potentially indoctrinate my children.
 
Kal'Stang said:
:roll: Believe it or not SenorXm/Sirius, people can talk about more things that just Trump. Amazing I know! But true none the less!
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Petition Amazon to do an 'operation' on Alexa to change 'her' to Alex with a male voice. Problem solved.

Then you Cons won't have to worry about another evil, mean 'feminist' in the world.

That sounds kind of transexual, which might also be a problem, so take your pick.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
Petition Amazon to do an 'operation' on Alexa to change 'her' to Alex with a male voice. Problem solved.

Then you Cons won't have to worry about another evil, mean 'feminist' in the world.

That sounds kind of transexual, which might also be a problem, so take your pick.
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Yeah let’s change Alexa to Alex and then when he gets called a bunch of homosexual slurs we will have to deal with that ****storm :roll:
 
Crovax said:
Real AI is racist apparently, Microsoft silences its new A.I. bot Tay, after Twitter users teach it racism [Updated] | TechCrunch
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Thanks for posting this. I'm a huge fan of "Person of Interest" and how the centerpiece artificial intelligence learned from its "father" and grew its own understanding of right and wrong. From your article:

As Twitter users quickly came to understand, Tay would often repeat back racist tweets with her own commentary. What was also disturbing about this, beyond just the content itself, is that Tay’s responses were developed by a staff that included improvisational comedians. That means even as she was tweeting out offensive racial slurs, she seemed to do so with abandon and nonchalance. https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/24/m...-bot-tay-after-twitter-users-teach-it-racism/

The article notes the "devolution" between Twitter users and the machine as a demonstration of Godwin's Law and states:

But what it really demonstrates is that while technology is neither good nor evil, engineers have a responsibility to make sure it’s not designed in a way that will reflect back the worst of humanity. For online services, that means anti-abuse measures and filtering should always be in place before you invite the masses to join in. And for something like Tay, you can’t skip the part about teaching a bot what “not” to say.

The "masses"? Which masters of the masses decide what "abuse" is and what "needs" to be "filtered"?
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
You're joking, right? PLEASE say you're joking!!

It saying '"I'm not going to respond to that.' is going to indoctrinate your children?
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You may want to read the link I gave in post #7 as that is literally what the author of the article was talking about:

I appreciate Amazon’s willingness to take a stand, even if Alexa’s extraordinarily mild feminism—stating that women are human beings and deserve equal rights—upsets some (sexist) customers. And Alexa’s refusal to engage with sexual harassment (rather than thanking me for the sexual comments) is undoubtedly a step in the right direction. But that Alexa exists to please, not upset, her customers is fundamentally limiting. Even as Amazon’s update to Alexa makes her the most feminist of the major voice assistants, it still falls short of offering an ideal response to harassment.

In an ideal world, such disengagement would help condition the user to understand that sexual harassment is unacceptable and disrespectful. In response to “you’re a slut,” Alexa or Siri would say something like, “That sounds like sexual harassment. Sexual harassment is not acceptable under any circumstances, and is often rooted in sexism.” She could then provide the customer with resources to help them more deeply understand sexual harassment, how to curb it, and how to respectfully ask for consent.
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That is literally what people are wanting. And why so many have wanted Alexa to be more "feminist".
 
Kal'Stang said:
You may want to read the link I gave in post #7 as that is literally what the author of the article was talking about:



That is literally what people are wanting. And why so many have wanted Alexa to be more "feminist".
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And you and others think changing a couple of canned AI responses will 'indoctrinate children'? Really?
 
nota bene said:
I can't imagine why you're trying to compare machines to real women.

And I do see part of Lowdown's point: I don't need a machine to police my speech or potentially indoctrinate my children.
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Were you calling Alexa sexy??? Since that's apparently the only speech it's "policing."
 
Kal'Stang said:
Did a little bit more digging and it does appear as if this is legit. Amazon really is making Alexa a feminist. Here is one article that I found particularly interesting...

Amazon’s Alexa is now a feminist, and she’s sorry if that upsets you
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Kal'Stang said:
You may want to read the link I gave in post #7 as that is literally what the author of the article was talking about:

That is literally what people are wanting. And why so many have wanted Alexa to be more "feminist".
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I'm sorry, these two posts make it hard for me to decipher your position on this topic.

A) Do you have any negative feelings towards this change by Amazon for Alexa?
B) Do you wish Alexa was more "feminist"?
C) If you answered yes to A and no to B, are you stating you have a problem with a robot not giving encouragement to sexual harassment?

I'm sorry, I'm not exactly sure I understand your position and I don't want to ascribe to you a position you don't believe.
nota bene said:
I can't imagine why you're trying to compare machines to real women.

And I do see part of Lowdown's point: I don't need a machine to police my speech or potentially indoctrinate my children.
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:lol: :lol: :lol:

You can't imagine why one is comparing machines to real people and then state that the machine is acting like a real person to indoctrinate your children? :lol:

Also, the machine isn't policing your speech or indoctrinating your children. The machine isn't preventing you from saying anything you want, nor does it cast judgment on what you say. So what part of Lowdown's point, exactly, do you see?
 
Slyfox696 said:
I'm sorry, these two posts make it hard for me to decipher your position on this topic.

A) Do you have any negative feelings towards this change by Amazon for Alexa?
B) Do you wish Alexa was more "feminist"?
C) If you answered yes to A and no to B, are you stating you have a problem with a robot not giving encouragement to sexual harassment?

I'm sorry, I'm not exactly sure I understand your position and I don't want to ascribe to you a position you don't believe.
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My position is that a robot shouldn't be programed to take a political stance. Robots should be neutral and only accomplish what it was made to do. Amazon's "Alexa" was made for taking memo's, answer questions based on what is available on the internet, preferably fact based answers, and setting reminders, or playing your favorite playlist. It was not made to cater to a political position, no matter what that position may be.

Slyfox696 said:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

You can't imagine why one is comparing machines to real people and then state that the machine is acting like a real person to indoctrinate your children? :lol:

Also, the machine isn't policing your speech or indoctrinating your children. The machine isn't preventing you from saying anything you want, nor does it cast judgment on what you say. So what part of Lowdown's point, exactly, do you see?
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It doesn't? From the article that I linked:

She now responds to sexually explicit questions by saying either “I’m not going to respond to that,” or “I’m not sure what outcome you expected.” Amazon did not publicly announce this update.
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Say I'm in college and I'm getting a psychology degree in sexuality. If I ask a genuine sexually explicit question because I'm doing research on a paper about sex how are the above "answers" going to help me?

And how does it saying this:

“If you ask Alexa whether she’s a feminist, she will say yes, adding ‘As is anyone who believes in bridging the inequality between men and women in society.’
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not casting judgement on someone that does not want to be associated with today's feminism due to valid reasons? For example Kristina Hoff Summers, a woman who is a 1st generation feminist does not wish to be associated with today's feminism and is pretty much always calling them out. By them programing Alexa to say that they are essentially saying that anyone that isn't a feminist does not believe in equality between men and women. That is the connotation and perception that such an answer gives. Whether you agree with that or not, there are many that would view it as such.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
And you and others think changing a couple of canned AI responses will 'indoctrinate children'? Really?
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By itself, probably not. :shrug: But here's a little fact about the world. All the big things in the world are made from littler things.

One company programs their Alexa like robot with feminist phrasing. Then another follows suit so as to not appear sexist/misogynistic. Then another, and another, and another. Result? Every canned phrase that you hear starts taking on a feminist perspective.

How do you think that today's world accepts black people as being human where as 100 years ago many whites thought that blacks were not human? And how did they believe what they did 100 years ago? It wasn't big movements that led to today's society or even big movements that led to the Revolutionary War. It was actually many smaller things that led up to the big movements. Without those many smaller things big movements would never have happened.

And quite frankly I'm opposed to today's feminism. I fully support equality among the sexes. Equality in pay. Equality in work opportunities. Equality in EVERYTHING. But I do not support today's feminism. So why would I want my child to hear "As is anyone who believes in bridging the inequality between men and women in society." when Alexa is asked if she's a feminist? A child is going to take that statement and think to themselves that if they support equality then they MUST be a feminist. That is incorrect thinking. You do not have to be a feminist to support equality among the sexes.
 
CMPancake said:
I'm at a loss for words. Lowdown truly thinks it's totalitarian that artificial intelligence won't respond to sexist language. I couldn't imagine the sorrow he felt when he learned women are not required to be barefoot cooking in the kitchen.
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TFB, if I want to call my worthless, tinny sounding piece of junk from Bezos or anyone else a Bitch, I will. No wonder you call yourself a pancake. Thank god I didn't waste my own money on that garbage. Another step by idiots who call themselves men, to take the adventure out of life. Interesting how you equate some cheap circuit boards, a cheap speaker I wouldn't tolerate on a $10 transistor radio from the 60's, with a real woman. What is your problem? Bet you also own a blow up doll that doesn't speak?
 
CMPancake said:
I'm at a loss for words. Lowdown truly thinks it's totalitarian that artificial intelligence won't respond to sexist language. I couldn't imagine the sorrow he felt when he learned women are not required to be barefoot cooking in the kitchen.
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You forgot to also call him racist.
 
SenorXm/Sirius said:
To keep the hate flowing and the deflections to the hot mess currently in DC., Cons need a new bogeyman to hate daily.

Today's bogeyman is Alexa.
Click to expand...

This ain't politics. It is about taking living life out of life. Do tell us about your talking refrigerator. Does it get along with your talking toilet?

I don't need no stinkin' self driving cars, no Dick Tracy watch, no smart underwear that knows when to give me a good scratch.
 
OldFatGuy said:
This ain't politics. It is about taking living life out of life. Do tell us about your talking refrigerator. Does it get along with your talking toilet?

I don't need no stinkin' self driving cars, no Dick Tracy watch, no smart underwear that knows when to give me a good scratch.
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Hey now...that last one might be kinda nice....that way I wouldn't have to scratch myself in public while trying to be inconspicuous about it! ;)
 
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