Should Amazon change the default wake word on echo devices?

[cfleischmann]

Hi everyone:

it’s been a while since I’ve been here mainly because I completely forgot I had this account. But recently, I found a video that claims Amazon ruined the name Alexa. As a result, I did some research and this is true. So I figured I would create this poll that is attached here and see what the community thanks.



This is not a new thing, but I just found out about it yesterday so i figured I’d bring it to the community’s attention

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Wow! One woman’s crusade to get Amazon to change the name “Alexa” of the Echo software and device.

LINK: She is a daughter, woman, mother, niece, sister, wife, friend

I never thought of the name “Alexa” for a human (I’ve heard plenty of “Alexandra”, “Alexis”, “Alexandria”… but never “Alexa”) prior to the Echo technology’s introduction. It was BECAUSE OF the Echo’s name that I thought it might be a cute name for a girl… but apparently countless of human Alexas are being bullied, driven to change their names, suicidal thoughts, etc. I would never dream of bullying someone named Alexa…

what do you think? Should Amazon have thought this through better? Did they make a mistake? Should they change the name?

[external links]

Video by NameExplained on the subject:

Another video summarizing the situation:

Note: the attached poll is set to run for 21 days (3 weeks) from the date of posting… this plenty of time for you to vote, think on it, form new opinions and change your mind if new opinions are formed. But by having a defined cut off it gives a clear timeframe as to when the data was captured. I *MIGHT* follow this up with a more detailed and thoughtful survey to gain more insights into this. I don’t know for certain if I will or not.. but if I do, I’ll update this thread

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

Alexa is a very pretty Greek name, and no one should be teased for such a lovely name.

 

[Crossbreed]

Any flattering name they choose is likely to be given to real humans.
Don't be such a Karen...!
Dick, Peter and, not too long ago, Nancy had unflattering connotations, too.

 

[Judge]

Why can't they reprogram the wake-up response to be a combination of words?

Such as, "Alexa, augment."

Apparently this issue is not new. But using a combination would likely eliminate the confusion altogether. Just pick a verb that cannot be a proper noun. Something like "augment" or implement"....etc..

Five years ago Amazon introduced Alexa. The name may never be the same. Here’s what happened.

 

[Tom]

Star Trek was way ahead of the game.

 

[GadAbout]

My Echo Dot keeps replying to the name Alexa on a television show, "Hm, I'm sorry, I don't have any information on that" or words to that effect.

It would be silly for any real human to change their name because of this. I just find it comical. If it's in your own home I think you can change the wake word.

 

[Judge]

Star Trek was way ahead of the game.

View attachment 69227

Pity they couldn't use Majel Barret's voice as Alexa...or whatever they should call it.

Yo Nurse Chapel! Flush my toilet!

 

[Fino]

Children are going to drive other children to suicidal ideation no matter what we do. I suppose the question is if we want this to be on the list of reasons or if we want kids to have to find something else. This one seems rather benign, but the likelihood is that the little demons are simply using this as their launching pad for evil behavior. Finding something to make fun of, no matter how illegitimate, is their "in."

 

[Crossbreed]

In our house, what others would call "teasing nicknames," we used as pet names.
My daughter, JoHannah, has always been "Banana" at home.
It really depends on one's underlying attitude.

 

[cfleischmann]

Honestly, I am of the opinion that for the most part people need tough skin and teasing will inevitably happen. However, where I think this has gone too far is as follows:
1) even adults are doing this who should know better.
2) you don’t see me writing to Nickelodeon or Paramount plus for every reference to iCarly that comes my way. You don’t see my advocates wife writing to Apple demanding that they change the name Siri. Now the interesting thing about the second version of that is that my advocates wife chose the nickname Siri as it’s easy to spell, easy to remember, and easy to say. Whereas if she were to tell the Starbucks person her name was Krystal, nine times from 10 they would probably misspell it.
3) when a company‘s branding and marketing has real world consequences like suicidal ideation‘s, driving people to change their name legally, relentless harassment at work and at school, and other such things that’s when I would say the companies decision was very shortsighted. However, good luck changing this on a global scale and unfortunately this is just the fallout of some thing that society is going to have to deal with. It is because of Amazon echo that I actually think Alexa is a cute name and is something I would name my child.

If you really wanted to get technical, I would actually consider naming my children Siri Nicole, Cortana Marie, and Alexa Renee. I think they’re beautiful names and Siri is an actual name used in places like Scandinavia and Norway which means something to the effect of “beautiful victory” or “beautiful woman who will lead you to victory”. As for Alexa, that was explained in the linked video in the original post, and as for Cortana nobody seems to have a clue but I like it.

again normally I’d say children will be children, but when it crosses extremes as this case has this is where I would have issue with it.

 

[Crossbreed]

If you really wanted to get technical, I would actually consider naming my children

• Siri Nicole,
• Cortana Marie, and
• Alexa Renee.

They sound like they would be very compliant...

 

[cfleischmann]

They sound like they would be very compliant...

I wouldn’t intend then to be 100% compliant. Rather to have their own opinions, thoughts, etc. however, I would ensure they did treat others with respect, followed safety instructions, etc. so I would give a mix of freedom of choice, but also ensure they were properly raised individuals.