British people have a lot of questions, and these days all they have to do is shout at their voice assistant Alexa and they will probably get the answer.
Amazon has now revealed its most asked questions for Alexa in Britain this year, ranging from the weird, wonderful and straight-up nosey.
From the height of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to Gordon Ramsay’s net worth, hundreds of questions have been asked, with some being more popular than others.
The net worth of the second richest man in the world, and new owner of Twitter, Elon Musk, was one of the most frequently asked question from Alexa owners.
Amazon has now revealed its most asked questions for Alexa in Britain this year, ranging from the weird, wonderful and straight-up nosey
One of the most popular questions was ‘Alexa, how tall is Rishi Sunak’. The Prime Minister said he was 5ft7
The age of 96-year-old broadcaster and beloved biologist David Attenborough, as well as the height of American comedian Kevin Hart were also among the most-asked questions.
According to Amazon, some users spoke to Alexa as if she was a real person, with popular responses including telling her ‘good night’, ‘good morning’ and ‘what’s your name?’
UK Alexa owners even told the device ‘Alexa, I love you’ more than 15 million times in 2022.
Around the world, Alexa is asked questions billions of times a week, either to keep them entertained or help with tasks.
In the UK, some of the most asked questions were peering into celebrities and politicians’ lives, asking about their height, net worth, age and even who they were married to.
People wanted to know the age of Diana Ross, the 78-year-old American singer, who was seen performing at Glastonbury Festival this year, more than anyone else.
This was shortly followed by an interest in the ages of members of the Royal family, including the late Queen, who was 96 years old when died in September.
In addition, the ages of King Charles, 74, heir Prince William, who turned 40 in June, and the Princess Royal, 72, were among the notable figures people wanted to know the age of.
As ever, people were also interested in the net worths of the wealthy, with Formula One star Lewis Hamilton coming in second place, after Musk.
One of the most popular questions of 2022 was how old legendary American soul singer Diana Ross was. The 78-year-old was seen headlining at Glastonbury Festival in June
UK Alexa owners even told the device ‘Alexa, I love you’ more than 15 million times in 2022. Pictured: Stock image of an Amazon Echo dot
Questions about sport also filled the Alexa’s top charts this year. This mostly included the scores from British teams football matches, but also dates of big tournaments such as ‘Alexa, when is Wimbledon’ and ‘Alexa, when is the World Cup starting?’
The wealth of Beatle Paul McCartney, 80, actor Johnny Depp, 59, and billionaire owner of Amazon Jeff Bezos, 58, were also among those most curious about.
In addition, people wanted to know about politicians, singers and presenters’ love life.
Who Britain’s shortest serving Prime Minister, Liz Truss, was married to was the most asked question in this area, shortly followed by people asking who Russian President Vladimir Putin was married to.
Brits also wanted to know who Strictly Come Dancing presenter Claudia Winkleman, renowned British actress Joanna Lumley and American popstar Ariana Grande were married to.
The height of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is 5ft7, was another question Brits were dying to know.
They were also interested in the height of American rapper Jack Harlow, who is reportedly 5ft9 and the height of Top Gun star Tom Cruise, who is also, like the Prime Minister, 5ft7.
Other questions topping the charts were sports related, with many checking in to see how their team had performed in the Premier League that day or asking for the start dates of major competitions such as Wimbledon and the World Cup.
Ed Sheeran, George Ezra and Elvis Presley – who has seen interest surge after the 2022 hit film about his life – topped the top music artists Brits wanted to play in their homes.
The most popular albums were Disney’s Encanto soundtrack, Ed Sheeran’s = and Harry Style’s hit album Harry’s House.
Top songs were Bad Habits, by Ed Sheeran, As It Was by Harry Styles and We Don’t Talk About Bruno from Encanto.
The most played song to be sung by Alexa were ‘Alexa, sing Happy Birthday’, ‘Alexa, beatbox’ and peculiarly ‘Alexa, play a song about dogs’.
British people were also interested in how tall Top Gun star Tom Cruise was. The 5ft7 tall actor made a return to his famous role of Pete Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick earlier this year
Another popular question Brits asked the device was, ‘Alexa, who is Liz Truss married to?’. People were clearly interested in the spouse of Britain’s shortest serving Prime Minister
Money was also on the mind of many Alexa owners in Britain, with the one of the most asked questions being how much Elon Musk, the second richest man, and new owner of Twitter, is worth
Elsewhere, people used Alexa to improve their cooking skills with pancakes, Yorkshire puddings and chili con carne the most popular recipes, with banana bread and ‘Granny’s sponge’ following closely behind.
There were also some strange requests of the sound device.
Bizarrely, Amazon said that British people often ask Alexa to make disgusting ‘fart’ noises.
Among the oddly specific requests for these noises, including ‘Alexa, do a squeaky fart’, ‘Alexa, do a spicy fart’ and ‘Alexa, do a ketchup fart’.
Alexa has meant it is easier to find out things instantly, rather than having to research or read about a certain topic or person to know the answer.
Earlier this year, the likes of Alexa, Siri and Google Home were claimed to be making children less intelligent and socially stunted, a researcher from Cambridge University said.
Dr Anmol Arora claimed that the popular devices could impede youngster’s learning skills, critical thinking and empathy as children can get a ‘specific’ or ‘concise’ answer, rather than having to decipher for themselves what is important information.
Concerns have also been raised that Alexa’s could be used to spy or listen in on people’s conversations.
In November, MPs sounded the alarm after a Scots sex offender became the first person in the UK to be convicted of using an Amazon Alexa to snoop on his victim.
Tory MP Julian Knight told a Westminster committee holding an inquiry into smart devices: ‘The innocent little box sitting inconspicuously in the corner of the room would seem to offer the ultimate in convenience.
‘However, there is always the danger it will have a more sinister side, with users potentially sacrificing privacy, put at risk of cyber-crime, or left open to uncovering harmful content online.
‘This disturbing court case highlights the potential dangers in our own homes of this connected technology.’
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