In the past, we’ve had problems with Amazon Echo devices listening in on private conversations and, somehow, allowing those conversations to be sent to contacts. We’ve also had a weird glitch where Alexa would think you would tell her to laugh when you didn’t, inciting creepy, unprompted laughter to be admitted into your home.
Now, you can expect your hotels to also include all of these creepy features. That’s right, Amazon is teaming up with Marriott International in order to integrate Amazon Echos into hotel rooms, allowing guests to phone the front desk, check out, and gather information all by asking Alexa. Each device will be tailored to the specific hotel in a program called “Alexa For Hospitality” that is set to begin testing in North Carolina and California.
Technology is there to make our lives easier, but there comes a point where it ultimately becomes too invasive. Is this one of those situations? Sure, being able to get Alexa to order you room service would be great, but if the glitches stated above are not completely eliminated, it could definitely pose a privacy threat to hotel chains that decide to partake in this program.
We’ll see how successful Marriott is with this program as testing begins soon.
