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New Alexa Skill Plays Fake Stupid Arguments To Scare Off Burglars (techcrunch.com)
TechCrunch reports on a new Alexa skill called "Away Mode".
Instead of lights and noises, you can keep your home safe from unwanted visitors by playing lengthy audio tracks that sound like real -- and completely ridiculous -- conversations. When you launch Away Mode, Alexa will play one of seven audio tracks penned by comedy writers from SNL, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and UCB... These include gems like "Couple Has Breakup While Also Trying to Watch TV," "Two Average Guys Brainstorm What's Unique About Themselves So They Can Start a Podcast About It," "Emergency PTA Meeting To Discuss Memes, Fidget Spinners, and Other Teen Fads," and more. There are conversations from a book club where no one discusses the book, a mom walking her daughter through IKEA assembly over the phone, a stay-at-home mom losing her s***, and argument over a board game....
After enabling the skill on your Alexa device, you can cycle through the various conversations by saying "Next"... The tracks themselves are around an hour or so long... There are other "burglar deterrent" skills for Alexa if you're interested in the general concept, like that play fake house alarms or sound like guard dogs. But Away Mode is just a little more fun.
It's the brainchild of San Francisco-based Hippo Insurance, whose brand manager hopes to get people thinking about home security (though she says it isn't meant to be a serious security tool). Yet, "Theoretically it's a good idea," adds former California police chief Jim Bueermann (now the head of the nonprofit Police Foundation). "If this thing mimics real conversation, it's much more likely to trick the burglar into believing somebody is home."
In one fake argument, a board game player shouts "Hand me the rulebook! The other rulebook! That's the rules reference.... No, it's in the learn-to-play guide. That's the quick reference!"
After enabling the skill on your Alexa device, you can cycle through the various conversations by saying "Next"... The tracks themselves are around an hour or so long... There are other "burglar deterrent" skills for Alexa if you're interested in the general concept, like that play fake house alarms or sound like guard dogs. But Away Mode is just a little more fun.
It's the brainchild of San Francisco-based Hippo Insurance, whose brand manager hopes to get people thinking about home security (though she says it isn't meant to be a serious security tool). Yet, "Theoretically it's a good idea," adds former California police chief Jim Bueermann (now the head of the nonprofit Police Foundation). "If this thing mimics real conversation, it's much more likely to trick the burglar into believing somebody is home."
In one fake argument, a board game player shouts "Hand me the rulebook! The other rulebook! That's the rules reference.... No, it's in the learn-to-play guide. That's the quick reference!"
”There are conversations from a book club where no one discusses the book”
I’m pretty sure I was a member of that book club a while back.
#DeleteChrome
With Alexa playing a fake argument, the adjoined neighbors won't suspect anything is out of place when I accidentally knock over a lamp while I'm robbing the place! #DontForgetToStealAlexa ;)
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
Now I wish I had recorded all times I yelled and ranted at my Windows PC. Yes, I sometimes actually do this -- I'm sure we *all* do...
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
Step 2. Name the dog Alexa.
Problem solved.
Wish I could give you mod points...
The only people in our circle of friends who’ve had their dwelling burglarized are gun owners. Actually, they *were* gun owners - and yes, the burglar did steal their guns.
#DeleteChrome
Yeah, why doesn't this do that? It's supposed to be a smart device, so why doesn't it play audio, turn on the TV for a little while, turn on and off lights and do other things that it has control over?
At least, going by all the ads, that's what people do with them, so it seems a real "away mode" can simply simulate normal use of what already happens... why play fake lines without doing other stuff?