{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-09-30T07:21:03.021Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"portland","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2018","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2018-portland-alexa-private-conversation-sent","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Opening account and paragraph reporting the recipient identifying their household conversation (L628-L632).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"An Echo sent a Portland couple’s private conversation to a contact without their intended instruction.","causal_attribution":"Family account relayed from KIRO, acknowledged by Amazon; logs were not independently inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Update and second update: Amazon’s explanation and its statement that the explanation came from device logs (L90-L92).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Amazon attributed the transmission to a sequence of misinterpreted speech commands.","causal_attribution":"Provider explanation, not an independently reproduced technical finding."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"NPR transcript, final two sentences.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The couple unplugged their Alexa devices after discovering the disclosure.","causal_attribution":"Reported response to the disclosure."}],"effects":[{"label":"The couple’s household audio was disclosed to another person without authorization.","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/amazon-confirms-that-echo-device-secretly-shared-users-private-audio/","kind":"journalism","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English article and both updates read directly. Family reporting originates with KIRO; Amazon supplied Ars a statement.","independence_group":"kiro-amazon-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.tomsguide.com/us/alexa-record-conversation%2Cnews-27269.html","kind":"journalism","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English article body read directly, excluding related-story cards. Relays KIRO and carries an Amazon statement.","independence_group":"kiro-amazon-account"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.kcur.org/2018-05-25/oregon-couple-unplugs-alexa-after-private-conversation-is-recorded","kind":"broadcast_transcript","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English NPR transcript read directly. Explicitly credits KIRO; no additional independent witness.","independence_group":"kiro-amazon-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["privacy","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The exact day is unknown: the 24 May account says two weeks earlier, so only May 2018 is recorded.","The recording and device logs were not inspected.","Later remedies and any further consequences are unknown."],"geography":{"basis":"Tom’s Guide identifies the couple’s home as Portland, Oregon. No court proceeding is cited.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Concrete adverse experience with a core person relation. Claims remain attributed to their sources. Technical and causal limits are recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-25"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The incident concerns Alexa’s speech recognition and messaging action, with Amazon acknowledging the transmission.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["acted_on_behalf"]},"name":"Portland couple’s private conversation sent to a contact by Alexa","summary":"A Portland couple discovered that their Echo had sent a household conversation to a contact. They unplugged their devices. Amazon acknowledged the incident and attributed it to speech being misinterpreted as commands.","incidentDate":"2018-05-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2018-05-24","aiSystem":"Amazon Alexa on Echo","aiProduct":"Amazon Alexa","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The couple’s household audio was disclosed to another person without authorization.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The two people whose conversation was disclosed. The recipient is not counted as harmed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/amazon-confirms-that-echo-device-secretly-shared-users-private-audio/","primarySourceLabel":"Ars Technica, 24 May 2018, with Amazon updates","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-25T03:28:57.688532+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:46.732408+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-review"]}]}