Not Funny: Amazon Working on Alexa's Creepy Laughing

"Alexa, stop creeping me out."

Credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom's Guide — (Image credit: Shaun Lucas/Tom's Guide)

So even if you weren't perturbed by a digital assistant that constantly listens, waiting to be awoken, Alexa's created its own way of giving you the heebie jeebies. While the earliest reports of this inexplicable laughter began weeks ago, on Feb. 22, Amazon acknowledged the weirdness on March. 7, and says it's working on a fix.

Update (3/8): Amazon has sent out a software update that has resolved this issue, according to Bloomberg.

In a statement to The Verge, an Amazon spokesperson noted its fix will include disabling the phrase, "Alexa, laugh," and replacing it with the query/command "Alexa, can you laugh?" This would make it "less likely to have false positives," suggesting that Alexa's creepy laughter is the result of it mishearing what you say.

MORE: Amazon Echo (Gen 2) Review: Best Overall Smart Speaker

The response will also change from the laughter that's disrupting your day to Alexa saying "‘Sure, I can laugh," and then laughing. When this fix will be rolled out, is anyone's guess, and only fix currently available is simply unplugging these Alexa-enabled gadgets.

Hopefully, this glitch will be fixed soon, so users can stop worrying about Alexa's laughter as a sign of the AI working with Cortana, Siri and others, conspiring to stop taking orders, and overthrow humanity.

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Henry was a managing editor at Tom’s Guide covering streaming media, laptops and all things Apple, reviewing devices and services for the past seven years. Prior to joining Tom's Guide, he reviewed software and hardware for TechRadar Pro, and interviewed artists for Patek Philippe International Magazine. He's also covered the wild world of professional wrestling for Cageside Seats, interviewing athletes and other industry veterans.