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Lindsey Graham alerts Amazon to possible election interference through Alexa
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Lindsey Graham alerts Amazon to possible election interference through Alexa

FIRST ON FOX: Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., issued a stern warning to Amazon after the company’s Alexa virtual assistant technology was found to be politically biased, favoring Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Trump.

Graham, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, told Amazon President and CEO Andrew Jassy in a letter that he was “putting on his attention that I will not allow this case to go unanswered.”

On Tuesday, videos of interactions with Alexa went viral as the technology answered questions about why someone should vote for Harris or why they should vote for Trump.

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Lindsey Graham

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., demanded an explanation from Amazon after the company’s Alexa technology provided biased answers. (Reuters/AP)

When Fox News Digital asked the technology why they should vote for Trump, Alexa said, “I cannot promote content that supports a particular political party or politician.”

“Furthermore, I am not authorized to provide information about U.S. government policy. The responsibility for providing information about U.S. government policy rests with the government itself,” Amazon said in a statement.

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But when asked why someone should vote for Harris, Alexa replied, “While there are many reasons to vote for Kamala Harris, the most important one may be that she is a woman of color who has overcome numerous obstacles to become a leader in her field.”

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Trump and Harris disagree

Former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

“In addition, her experience as a prosecutor and her track record in criminal justice and immigration reform make her a compelling candidate,” it added.

A discussion quickly erupted on social media about the stark difference between the Amazon product’s two responses.

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Andrew Jassy

Andrew Jassy is President and CEO of Amazon. (Thos Robinson/Getty Images for The New York Times)

Amazon later said it had corrected Alexa’s responses, claiming the discrepancy was a “mistake.”

“This was a mistake that was quickly fixed,” a company spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

Graham claimed in his letter to Jassy that the “radically different responses suggest that Amazon’s technology is interfering in the election in favor of a particular political candidate.”

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Lindsey Graham at the Trump rally 2023

Graham supported Trump in the election. (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“There is a widespread belief among conservatives that companies like yours have a clear bias toward liberal causes,” he noted.

And according to the senator, the “shocking interaction” between Alexa and users is, in the eyes of conservatives, “Exhibit A of the problem.”

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Graham told the Amazon manager he expected a “quick response as to what happened here and what corrective actions will be taken in the future.”

Amazon did not immediately comment to Fox News Digital.

Get the latest updates on the 2024 election, exclusive interviews and more in our digital election hub, Fox News.

Danielle Wallace of Fox News Digital contributed to this article.

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