Amazon virtual assistant Alexa does not predict the start of WWIII

Videos circulating online appear to show Amazon’s virtual assistant device, known as Alexa, predicting the start of World War III. But this is not genuine. 

The videos all use the same audio over footage showing different Alexa devices. Alexa is a voice-controlled virtual assistant that can help with tasks such as playing audio, controlling smart home devices and answering questions, among other things.

The videos show someone behind the camera asking the device when WWIII will start. The device responds: “World War III starts on November 23rd, 2023, at 6.05pm, when Russia launches an attack against Germany.”

But these videos are not genuine. Neither the makers of Alexa or Full Fact have been able to replicate this response. 

One video, with what appears to be slightly different audio to other versions, was traced by fact checkers at Snopes to a YouTube compilation video published in March 2021 that shows Alexa devices being asked lots of different questions about the future. 

A similar clip was posted on TikTok in April 2021 by an account with the bio: “Asking Alexa all your questions.” 

The audio from this TikTok video has been widely shared on Facebook and Twitter with footage showing different Alexa devices. Some posts have just shared Alexa’s response as text. 

In response to a question about the video, an Alexa representative told reporters at Newsweek: "This is not Alexa's response and we have not been able to replicate this video."

Full Fact has also been unable to replicate the prediction. The Alexa device we asked the exact same question responded by saying that “World War III refers to a hypothetical global-scale military conflict”  and that “it’s impossible to predict whether such a war may happen” in the future. 

Alexa’s answers are sourced through the search engine Bing or from crowdsourced responses submitted on a forum called Alexa Answers. Individual devices can also be programmed to give customised responses to certain questions through an online platform called Skill Blueprint. This involves the owner of the device setting up an account and entering specific questions and answers. 

Fact checkers at Snopes suggested that individual Alexa devices could be programmed to give this response when asked about the start of WWIII. 

Full Fact has written before about an unevidenced claim that voice assistants hinder children’s development. We have also seen false claims relating to other technology, such as robots being trained to become soldiers, as well as Asda self-checkout tills and traffic cameras in Leeds using facial recognition.