“Yandex” explained the incorrect answer of “Alice” about the heroine of “Masha and the Bear”

In Yandex (MOEX: YNDX) stated that the incorrect answer from the virtual voice assistant “Alice” created by the company to a question about the cartoon “Masha and the Bear” is an isolated case. Now the smart speaker does not respond like that, the company noted.

Earlier today, April 3, the Commissioner for Children’s Rights in St. Petersburg, Anna Mityanina, speaking to deputies of parliament, expressed concern about the impact of information technology on children. As an example, she cited the answer of the “Alice” column to a question about the cartoon “Masha and the Bear.” In particular, as Ms. Mityanina pointed out, the smart column said that Masha lives alone because “she is just the ghost of a murdered girl, and she is tormenting a bear because he took her life.”

“In isolated cases, “Alice” could answer incorrectly the question about the family of the main character of the cartoon “Masha and the Bear.” She doesn’t respond like that anymore at this point. We always recommend activating the children’s mode when communicating with “Alice” in order to protect the child from unwanted content,” Yandex commented on the situation (quoted from “RIA News”).

The company noted that “Alice” regularly trains and tries to select appropriate phrases for dialogue with the owner. Information for questions that intelligent intelligence cannot formulate answers for itself is taken from open sources, Yandex indicated.

Read more about the company’s technologies in the Kommersant article. “Yandex is rebuilding a smart home”.