Alexa, Please Stop Laughing: Amazon Says It's Fixing Device's Unprompted Cackles

Late at night, in the gathered shadows of your bedroom, you may have heard it. Or, perhaps you heard it over breakfast with your family in the kitchen, the sound rising unbidden from over your shoulder in a corner of the room you had thought -- and now, desperately wish -- to be empty. At least, that's what Amazon Echo owners say they've been hearing lately. In recent weeks, many of them have hit social media saying they their smart speakers have been laughing spontaneously, unprompted by commands. So Alexa decided to laugh randomly while I was in the kitchen.