It is never a surprise to hear the current temperature when asking their virtual assistant, “Alexa, what is the temperature outside?” But today, some Amazon Alexa purchasers received a response they may not have expected. Amazon is now converting these devices into an army of advertising megaphones. This morning, when I asked Alexa the temperature, I received an additional announcement from Alexa:
This is not why I bought a Alexa. I promptly decided I would not be purchasing my existing cart full of items on Amazon. After spending more than an hour discussing with Amazon customer support, I found that there is no way to disable the advertisements. It is as-if Amazon suddenly decided that the good money I paid for their devices and annual subscription wasn’t enough; now I must also listen to ongoing advertisements to use it. Amazon’s customer support agent offered to submit my feedback, but this sounded far from promising.
When Alexa began, the system was geared to provide value to users who purchased the equipment. However, as the user base has increased, the gears have shifted. Now Alexa is interjecting unsolicited audio advertisements to promote Amazon. But, it isn’t just Alexa. Their FireTV screensaver has introduced disruptive advertisements between the formerly calming photography landscapes. The FireTV has also shifted from a vanilla home screen to a barrage of violent, sexual, disturbing, and gaudy advertising. It seems Amazon may be taking its cue from the dystopian “Violence Channel” theorized in the movie Idiocracy. Advertising consumes half or more of the FireTV home screen, which was previously in the full control of the purchaser.
As an aside, it is possible to disable “personalized” advertising which deters some of Amazon’s voracious behavior tracking. However, this merely causes the ads to become generalized. There is no option to disable the ads entirely.
It is disturbing to think how little consideration Amazon may have for its customers. Many of us have absolutely no interest to view the explosions, gunfire, and lewd depictions of women, Amazon is imposing on us. There should be no reason Amazon abandoned the neutral home screen they had in the past and which didn’t introduce unwanted violence and sexualized imagery into our homes. Our inquiry into the weather with a device we purchased shouldn’t impose an audio advertisement for Cyber Monday by Amazon.
Perhaps more frustrating: Amazon already has a solution to this issue. Amazon’s Fire Tablet offers two versions: “with special offers” and “without special offers.” Amazon offers an option for those who would prefer to save a few dollars initially in exchange for a permanent roll of advertising on their device. Curiously, at the time of this writing, the ad-free version is not in stock, while the ad-laden version is available immediately. Never the less, the option allows everyone to get what they want. It seems perfectly reasonable for Amazon to provide a toggle for users to disable the obnoxious ads and behavior tracking in favor of a family friendly mode that focuses on delivering a great user experience everywhere.
