South Park viewers were sent scrambling to unplug their Alexa and Google Home devices last night, after the show’s 21st season premiere had their smart assistants setting alarms, creating shopping lists, and spewing obscenities.
During an episode which saw the characters shouting commands at the cartoon versions of the devices, viewers flocked to Twitter to reveal that their own smart speakers had been triggered, too.
Social media has erupted with the hilarious stories of Amazon Alexa and Google Home owners whose assistants were set off by the episode, with many even claiming they’d been left with a shopping list that included ‘hairy b*lls.’
South Park viewers were sent scrambling to unplug their Alexa and Google Home devices last night, after the show’s 21st season premiere had their smart assistants setting alarms, creating shopping lists, and spewing obscenities
Countless viewers expressed their amusement – and frustration – on Twitter last night as the show repeatedly triggered their smart speakers and even Android devices.
‘Who else’s Alexa’s keep going off every time Cartman says something on the Alexa during this South Park episode,’ one user tweeted, along with a laughing-to-tears emoji.
‘This @SouthPark episode has set my @amazon Alexa off about 15 times so far. Had to unplug it,’ another wrote.
While it’s not yet known if the second-hand activation of viewers’ home devices was intentional, many suspect it was, the Hollywood Reporter notes.
‘@SouthPark nailed it tonight,’ one Twitter user wrote.
‘In other news I have an erroneous alarm set for 7am and a set of hairy b*lls on my shopping list. #alexa’
Viewers flocked to Twitter to reveal that their own smart speakers had been triggered, too. And, many were shocked by their ‘potty mouths’
Last night’s hilarious incident isn’t the first time viewers at home have seen their smart speakers set off by something on TV.
This past spring, Google Home owners were shocked as a Burger King commercial caused their devices to reel off facts about the Whopper, after it asked: ‘OK Google, what is the Whopper burger?’
The stunt even activated the smart assistants built into Android cell phones.
Both the Google Home speakers and those cell phones that have the Google app’s voice-activated function active are constantly listening for the phrase ‘OK Google’.
That’s a signal for the machine to treat whatever is said next as either a command – the speaker can be used to dim a home’s lights, for example – or a search query.
Social media has erupted with the hilarious stories of Amazon Alexa and Google Home owners whose assistants were set off by the episode
Countless viewers expressed their amusement – and frustration – on Twitter last night
While it’s not yet known if the second-hand activation of viewers’ home devices was intentional, many suspect it was
The show repeatedly triggered their smart speakers and even Android devices, frustrated viewers revealed
Last night’s hilarious incident isn’t the first time viewers at home have seen their smart speakers set off by something on TV. This past spring, a Burger King commercial designed to activate Google Home had a similar – albeit less explicit – effect
While many viewers appear to find the stunt amusing, others said they were forced to unplug the devices
Both the Google Home speakers and those cell phones that have the Google app’s voice-activated function active are constantly listening for the phrase ‘OK Google’
Voice-activated assistants have also raised concerns in recent months that they could be taken over and remotely controlled by hackers using inaudible commands.
A study by researchers at Zhejiang University in China found this can be done using a technique that translates voice commands into ultrasonic frequencies that are too high for the human ear to recognise.
The technique, named DolphinAttack, could be used to download a virus, send fake messages and even add fake events to a calendar.
It could also give hackers access to outgoing video or phone calls, allowing them to spy on their victims.