Amazon, can I have my name back?
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 27 December 2021
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Amazon's use of Alexa as a wake word for its voice assistant turned the name into a command, impacting daily interactions for people with the name – including The Washington Post’s own Alexa Juliana Ard.
Read more:
Nearly 130,000 people in the United States have the name Alexa. It gained popularity after singer Billy Joel and model Christie Brinkley named their daughter Alexa in 1985. In 2015, more than 6,000 baby girls in the United States were named Alexa, according to a Washington Post analysis of Social Security Administration data.
After Amazon chose Alexa as the wake word of its voice service, the name’s popularity plummeted. In 2020, only about 1,300 babies were given the name. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
Post video editor Alexa Juliana Ard reports on the impact of Amazon’s choice on Alexas - including her.
Watch Alexa’s video about Alexa Jade Morales. She was named after her father, Alexis Morales Jr., who was murdered on Oct. 1, 1992, just three and a half months before she was born. When Amazon made the name Alexa a wake word for its voice service, she experienced people treating her like the bot.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Give a helping hand this holiday season with the Washington Post helping hand. |
| 0:04.6 | This is John Kelly and I'm writing about Bread for the City, Friendship Place, and Miriam's Kitchen over the next few weeks. |
| 0:11.1 | Go to posthelpinghand.com to learn more and donate today. |
| 0:16.1 | Michael, turn on the lights. |
| 0:19.1 | Emily, buy me more deodorant. |
| 0:22.4 | Andrew, set a timer for 15 minutes. |
| 0:25.4 | Martin, play the podcast post reports. |
| 0:32.4 | I've never really thought about it before, but it would be weird if there was a robotic speaker that had my name. |
| 0:40.4 | If people went around all day giving out commands like Martin, what time is it? |
| 0:45.8 | Martin ordered the groceries. |
| 0:47.5 | But for so many people around the world, that is exactly their experience. |
| 0:53.3 | And they feel like no one is listening. |
| 0:56.8 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post Reports. |
| 1:01.1 | I'm Martin Powers. |
| 1:03.0 | It's Monday, December 27th. |
| 1:05.6 | Today, we've got a story about the Amazon Echo and its wake word, Alexa. |
| 1:10.8 | An awarding that this episode discusses self-harm and language that might not be suitable for children. |
| 1:16.5 | Also, listeners nearby a Smart Speaker, that device will likely be triggered throughout this episode. |
| 1:25.5 | Alexa Juliana Art is a foreign video editor for the post. |
| 1:29.5 | And she's been reporting about how Smart Speakers can negatively affect people like her. |
| 1:34.5 | I want you to go back to 2014 to about this time of year when all the online shopping gears up before the holidays. |
| 1:42.5 | Imagine it's in November. |
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