How Alexa Learned a Skill on Her Own

A story about ads and design

Rashid Lasker
Jul 24, 2017 · 2 min read

Alexa, stop!

On Prime Day, I finally succumbed to getting an Amazon Echo Dot on sale. I was far from the only one. I saw an ad on Facebook about how developing a skill for Alexa would net you free socks and an Echo Dot, so I figured I might as well try my hand at it. And I’m a sucker for free socks.

When the Dot came in the mail two days later, I thought I’d have a little fun with it. I called over a few housemates when the package came in and we played around with it, seeing what it could and couldn’t do. We came to the conclusion that its best use was to play music. So, we connected to Spotify, added a separate speaker, and began to jam.

Within a few hours, we had enabled a whole host of skills, from the relaxing to the absurd. I had a conversation with a virtual cat for half an hour. It truly is 2017.

At some in time, we learned about audio ads. While we were using a skill, Alexa started to play an ad for a separate skill all of a sudden. It wasn’t too far from something like a Spotify ad, so we didn’t think much of it. However, the ad ended with a cleverly thought out line:

If you want this skill, just say 'Alexa, enable [this app].’

Just after this, my Echo Dot cut the ad off and responded with:

Okay, I’ve enabled it for you.

The output coming from the secondary speaker just commanded my Echo Dot! I immediately disabled the skill. If I hadn’t been there listening to the ad, I wouldn’t have caught this command and the skill would be on my device without me knowing.

I doubt that this has only happened to me, and it presents the scary reality of ads being able to command and manipulate your devices at will. It is worth staying vigilant and looking through your Alexa history if you leave the room with a skill running. The last thing you want to have is an ad adding things to your shopping cart without your permission.

At the same, the secondary speaker offers a unique glimpse into the world of meta-automation. From a development standpoint, one can imagine a speech feedback loop with Alexa and itself, allowing the combination of several skills. Perhaps the world of Alexa development has many possibilities regarding this, let me know if you figure out a use for it!

Rashid Lasker

Written by

Designer/Developer | UVA CS Class of 2020

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