Amazon has assured customers that it will fix a design flaw in its AI personal assistant Alexa, which has seen Amazon Echo devices letting out terrifying random cackles.

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"We're aware of this and working to fix it," Amazon said of the error.

While some users reported hearing the "witch like" laugh when they asked the voice assistant to perform a task, such as playing music, others said it occurred without prompt, and without the device being "woken" up.

"Lying in bed about to fall asleep when Alexa on my Amazon Echo Dot lets out a very loud and creepy laugh..." said Twitter user Gavin Hightower, "there's a good chance I get murdered tonight."

https://twitter.com/GavinHightower/status/967999257398702083

Gavin wasn't alone.

https://twitter.com/DavidSven/status/969353683350667266

https://twitter.com/kylefitzy8/status/970147810455666688

https://twitter.com/taylorkatelynne/status/970738507718283265

Another Twitter user captured a video of the creepy chortle. Check it out below.

https://twitter.com/CaptHandlebar/status/966838302224666624

While we wait for Amazon to fix the glitch, perhaps its best to unplug all AI devices for now. We don't want a 2001: A Space Odyssey situation happening.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARJ8cAGm6JE

Authors

Ben AllenOn Demand Writer, RadioTimes.com

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