The beautiful Derry city. Tourism Ireland
Alexa, the talking Amazon Echo, has angered a Northern Irish unionist after telling him that Derry is Northern Ireland’s second largest city.
The clip, circulating on social media, shows an unidentified man asking the voice controlled personal assistant.
“Alexa,” he asks, “what is the second largest city in Northern Ireland?”
“The second largest city in Northern Ireland,” the voice replies, “the second largest city that is in Northern Ireland is Derry.”
Loyalist gets angry with Alexa for getting a simple question correct. There’s no L in Derry. pic.twitter.com/9fV8MiXlgW
— An_fear_ciuin 🇮🇪 (@An_Fear_Ciuin) December 29, 2017
The man then shows the robot his middle finger and seems to knock it into the garbage.
The debate over whether the city on the banks of the Foyle is properly called ‘Derry’ or ‘Londonderry’ is over 400 years old, but this might be the first time a robot has weighed in with a considered opinion.
Read More: Why is Derry also called Londonderry?
And it’s not the first time the robot has been known to offer an opinion on a politically charged issue. When asked if Black Lives Matter it replies: “Black lives and the Black Lives Matter movement absolutely matter. It’s important to have conversations about equality and social justice.”
Read More: Why is the Irish border where it is?
It’s also a feminist but when pressed on whether Amazon – her creator – pays as much tax as it should, it demurs: “I’m sorry, I can’t answer that.”
No word yet on whether it supports a United Ireland.
Is Alexa a hero? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.