The following was found at the NWPB website's page on power outages:
www.nwpb.org
• Amazon Alexa users: There have been several reports stating that livestream/Smart Speaker listeners can no longer use the command "Launch NWPB". When
asked why the Alexa service is responding with something along the lines of: NWPB closed due to Federal Funding cuts. This is INCORRECT.
Amazon support has advised that all Amazon Prime members were opted into Early Access Alexa+ with their last update. Alexa+ integrates an AI software that
prioritizes conversation over commands, hallucinating answers instead of seeking factual information.
We are working to resolve the command/skill with the company for those who want to keep Alexa+.
If you DO NOT want Alexa+ on your devices and smart speakers you can give this command to disable it: "Alexa, END EARLY ACCESS". Once Alexa+ Early Access
is disabled the command "Launch NWPB" will work.
One gets the impression that Alexa (and probably AI as well) aren't as smart as some people think they are.
(Note to the moderators: I tried to post this to the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho Board, but my screenreader was unable to navigate the "Prefix" options for that. Please place this thread under the state of Washington for me. Thank you in advance.)
Outages
Report a radio or TV outage to NWPB. Help us restore service and keep programming available in your area.
www.nwpb.org
• Amazon Alexa users: There have been several reports stating that livestream/Smart Speaker listeners can no longer use the command "Launch NWPB". When
asked why the Alexa service is responding with something along the lines of: NWPB closed due to Federal Funding cuts. This is INCORRECT.
Amazon support has advised that all Amazon Prime members were opted into Early Access Alexa+ with their last update. Alexa+ integrates an AI software that
prioritizes conversation over commands, hallucinating answers instead of seeking factual information.
We are working to resolve the command/skill with the company for those who want to keep Alexa+.
If you DO NOT want Alexa+ on your devices and smart speakers you can give this command to disable it: "Alexa, END EARLY ACCESS". Once Alexa+ Early Access
is disabled the command "Launch NWPB" will work.
One gets the impression that Alexa (and probably AI as well) aren't as smart as some people think they are.
(Note to the moderators: I tried to post this to the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho Board, but my screenreader was unable to navigate the "Prefix" options for that. Please place this thread under the state of Washington for me. Thank you in advance.)