A six-year-old girl named Alexa in Germany was forced to change her name after she was constantly bullied by her peers over her sharing name with the voice-activated personal assistant on Amazon's popular Echo device.
The girl from Goettingen in Germany bore the brunt of cruel gags by other kids on the playground who would give ‘Alexa' commands, the New York Post reported.
According to the girl's parents, she was mocked by her friends not only on the playground and at the kindergarten, but even at the swimming pool. They claimed that a complete stranger after overhearing her daughter's name, taunted her saying, "Alexa! Dance for me".
Alexa's parents finally filed an appeal before the city officials, seeking to change her name. After the couple's first attempt was rejected, they moved the city's administrative court.
According to report, the court officials agreed that the girl had been emotionally burdened by her name and allowed her parents to choose a new one. The court said that the name is not only apt to form a pun but invites insulting and demeaning order. However, it is not know what is Alexa's new name.
The Amazon Echo series is a range of hands-free speaker powered by voice activated personal assistant called ‘Alexa’. This assistant can perform basic tasks like setting up alarm, giving weather updates, trivia etc. Amazon says there are about 130,000 Alexa skills, compared with about 2 million iPhone apps, Bloomberg reported.
With the introduction of the Echo and Alexa in 2014, Amazon staked a claim in the nascent market for voice-controlled smart-home devices. The company says there are now more than 300 million light bulbs, thermostats, smart locks and other web-connected home devices linked to Alexa, up from 200 million in September.
(With Bloomberg inputs)
{{/usCountry}}(With Bloomberg inputs)
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