But ask about any of the other tech giants’ business practices, and it’s ready to critique them. Surfacing answers from across the Internet, Alexa describes Apple Inc as an"oligopoly” and cites Alphabet Inc’s Google as violating privacy rights, according to Bloomberg News tests of the software on three devices.
“Alexa uses a range of credible organisations and news sources to generate responses on any number of topics, including Amazon,” company spokesperson Kristy Schmidt said in a statement."When we learn of incorrect responses to particular questions, we take a closer look and work to remove responses that are inaccurate or misleading. We do this for a range of topics, as we believe it benefits customers.
Siri, for the most part, offers up criticisms of the iPhone maker. But it evades at least one question about Apple’s power. When asked whether Apple is a monopoly, Siri often replies,"I can’t answer that, but Apple.com should be able to.”Alexa also cites alleged privacy lapses by its rivals, bringing up a Facebook privacy settlement with the FTC and allegations that Apple’s finger-scanning technology violates constitutional rights.