Women's World Cup backlash as Amazon accused of sexism after England beat Australia
Amazon are facing a Women's World Cup backlash with Alexa accused of sexism
PA
Amazon has been accused of sexism after Alexa was unable to respond to a question about England's Women's World Cup win over Australia on Wednesday.
When asked to reveal the result of the fixture, it said there had been no match.
Academic Joanne Rodda criticised Amazon and accused them of sexism, telling the BBC it showed 'sexism in football was embedded in Alexa'.
She said she had only been able to get an answer when she specified it was women's football, instead of men's, that she was interested in.
England boss Sarina Wiegman was delighted after Australia Women's World Cup win
REUTERS
"When I asked Alexa about the women's England-Australia football match today it gave me the result," she said.
Amazon have now responded, saying: "This was an error that has been fixed."
But Dr Rodda said it was 'pretty sad' that, after a decade of Alexa being used in homes around the world, they've only now fixed the mistake.
Amazon insist that, when a user asks a question, information is pulled from a variety of sources.
Automated systems used by the AI usually get it right however, in this case, they were wide of the mark.
Dr Rodda also said she had encountered similar problems when searching for upcoming Arsenal matches.
"Out of interest, I just asked Alexa who Arsenal football team are playing in October," she said.
"It replied with information about the men's team, and wasn't able to give an answer when I asked specifically about women's fixtures.
AI is on the rise, with various websites gaining popularity in recent times.
And that's led to concerns over bias and the narrative they could consequently create going forward.
Should a user ask for the winner of the World Cup after England's clash with Spain on Sunday, it'll be interesting to see what Alexa responds.
The Lionesses booked their place in the final after overcoming Australia on enemy territory on Wednesday.
England took the lead through Ella Toone in the first half, with the 23-year-old breaking the deadlock in the 36th minute.
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr then levelled for the Aussies in the second half.
But England managed to secure victory courtesy of two late goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.
Should a user ask for the winner of the World Cup after England's clash with Spain on Sunday, it'll be interesting to see what Alexa responds.
The Lionesses booked their place in the final after overcoming Australia on enemy territory on Wednesday.
England took the lead through Ella Toone in the first half, with the 23-year-old breaking the deadlock in the 36th minute.
Chelsea striker Sam Kerr then levelled for the Aussies in the second half.
But England managed to secure victory courtesy of two late goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.
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England are now just one win away from securing Women's World Cup glory
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"They are a good team, they grew into the tournament, it is an away game for us but winning 3-1 is really incredible."