{"id":31961,"date":"2023-06-15T09:57:20","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T08:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=31961"},"modified":"2023-06-30T01:56:33","modified_gmt":"2023-06-30T00:56:33","slug":"amazon-shuts-down-mans-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/amazon-shuts-down-mans-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon shuts down man’s home"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>\"\"<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

The Bible declares that private property should be respected. The right to live in peace in your own home is a Biblical fundamental:
\nJdg 8:29 And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.<\/b><\/p>\n

The psalmist says to dwell in safety is God-given:
\nPsalm 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.<\/b><\/p>\n

In the days of Solomon, people dwelling safely in their own place was a sign of national security:
\n1Kings 4:25 And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.<\/b><\/p>\n

Indeed, the same picture is used of freedom, peace and security in the millennial Kingdom:
\nMicah 4:4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them<\/i> afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts hath spoken it<\/i>.<\/b><\/p>\n

Way back in the book of Job, this is said to be the portion of the righteous:
\nJob 11:19 Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee afraid; yea, many shall make suit unto thee.<\/b><\/p>\n

Alexa, Let Me In!<\/h2>\n

Even when the Apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome, two thousand years ago, he still had a right to occupy and enjoy his own home:
\nActs 28:30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,<\/b><\/p>\n

But today, Amazon will make you afraid if you have let them run your home. Offend Alexa and you might not be receiving anyone. According to the Daily Sceptic<\/b>, a paper has reported that Amazon shut down a customer\u2019s \u2018smart home\u2019 for a week after a delivery driver claimed he heard a racial slur coming through the doorbell, even though no one was home.<\/p>\n

Brandon Jackson, of Baltimore, Maryland, came home on 25th May 2023 to find that he had been locked out of his Amazon Echo. This is an online account, which his household devices, even his lights, were connected to.<\/p>\n

Amazon locked him out<\/h2>\n

He later learned Amazon had locked him out of his account after the delivery driver reported the alleged \u2018bell\u2019 incident. Amazon\u2019s normally chatty robot voice, \u2018Alexa\u2019, fell silent.<\/p>\n

An Amazon representative directed him to an email he received from an executive that provided a phone number to call. When he called the number, he was told in a \u201csomewhat accusatory\u201d tone that the driver had reported \u201creceiving racist remarks\u201d from his doorbell.<\/p>\n

But Mr Jackson is black, as are most of the neighborhood and its delivery drivers. After reviewing the doorbell footage, he learned the device had given an automatic reply, saying: \u201cExcuse me, can I help you?\u201d He also said the video showed the driver had been wearing headphones during the interaction and \u201cmust have misinterpreted the message\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Jackson was completely locked out of his account and it was \u201crendered unusable during their internal investigation\u201d for six days.<\/p>\n

The householder said the incident had \u201cled me to question my relationship with Amazon\u201d.<\/p>\n

Who lets Amazon control their home?<\/h2>\n

But what kind of person lets the Amazon behemoth control their home? Enough of us, apparently, to warrant a website, \u2018home-connect.com\u2019<\/b><\/a> to promote it.<\/p>\n

There we read how Amazon is \u2018Exceptionally smart\u2019 and how you can \u2018Control your home appliances with Home Connect and Alexa\u2019.<\/p>\n

If you have \u2018Too much on your mind\u2019 you can \u2018Let Amazon Alexa and Home Connect do some of that thinking for you, while you take care of personally important things.\u2019 It seems \u2018Home Connect lets you effortlessly control connected home appliances via Amazon devices such as Echo and Echo Show. Depending on the available skills, you can communicate with Alexa via voice and use the display for the interaction with your connected appliances. Start programs, change appliance settings, receive status updates and notifications or create individual routines.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Home Connect Skills\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u2018The available skills\u2019 is jargon for capabilities. As in: \u2018Home Connect Skills enable Alexa to communicate directly with your connected home appliances.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"You<\/a>
You can ask Alexa to ask your coffee machine to brew up. Why not just turn it on yourself?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Alexa listens. \u2018From very simple dialogues to very personalized interaction with Alexa and your connected appliance, Alexa will listen to your needs and will try her best to simplify your household work.\u2019<\/p>\n

Or: \u2018Would you like to turn on the coffee machine and enjoy your favorite coffee? Just say: \u201c Alexa, tell my coffee machine to turn on \u201d and follow it up with: ” Alexa, tell my coffee machine I want a large, strong Cappuccino “.\u2019 Sign up to Amazon and it\u2019s possible you soon might have a yearning for something even stronger.<\/p>\n

If you \u2018Want to know what is going on in your home? Alexa will find out for you. Ask: \u201cAlexa, ask my washer for the status \u201d and she\u2019ll let you know how long the washing machine in the basement has been running for. Need to know when it will finish? \u201c Alexa, ask my washer when the laundry will be done.\u201d Just a few words and you are all caught up.\u2019<\/p>\n

As, indeed, was Mr Jackson. Dramatically all caught up, in fact.<\/p>\n

\u2018When you talk, she hears you\u2019<\/h2>\n

How creepy is this about Alexa: \u2018When you talk, she hears you.\u2019 Well, so long as the delivery driver does not feel insulted by your door-bell, that is.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all sold on peace of mind and convenience. For example, you can turn on your central heating from work so the house is nice and warm when you return. Or a ‘smart’ slow cooker. And so on.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all a bit \u2018The Machine Stops\u2019 or \u2018The Matrix\u2019. Machines running everything for you. Until they don\u2019t. And what will Amazon do to Mr Jackson when Alexa goes full AI?<\/p>\n

Maybe then Alexa will turn down his central heating to the level the State has told Amazon is appropriate. Or perhaps it will switch off his power altogether if Alexa has heard him say something she considers\u00a0 to be ‘wrong-think’, like \u2018trans-women are men\u2019. After all, \u2018When you talk, she hears you.\u2019<\/p>\n

Paying too high a price<\/h2>\n

The humble Centurion seeking healing for his servant told our Lord:<\/p>\n

Luke 7:8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"'Christ<\/a>
‘Christ in the House of Martha and Mary’ by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer c. 1654\u20131656<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Is there a danger in future he could tell Alexa \u2018Come\u2019 and she goeth? It is a good job Amazon were not running things in Bible times. We read:<\/p>\n

John 20:10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.<\/b><\/p>\n

Only to find ‘Alexa’ had locked them out. So let us be careful and as wise as serpents,<\/p>\n

Eph 5:16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.<\/b><\/p>\n

This could be a salutary tale. Are we paying too high a price for convenience? Can you not make a hot drink yourself? Are there not more important things in life than knowing how much time your washing machine has left? Studying that ‘good old way’ and following the Lord Jesus, for example?<\/p>\n

Luke 10:41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:\u00a042 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.<\/b><\/p>\n

Isaiah 55:6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pray<\/strong> that a generation will arise seeking after real peace of mind, found, not in Alexa, but in Jesus.<\/p>\n

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