Alexa, start barking: Smart 13-year-old girl saves herself and her sister from monkey attack in UP

06.04.2024 - 07:41 / tech.hindustantimes.com

In a remarkable display of presence of mind, a 13-year-old girl from Basti, Uttar Pradesh, managed to fend off a potentially dangerous monkey attack using a rather unconventional method – Amazon's virtual voice assistant, Alexa.

The incident took place earlier in the day at Awas Vikas Colony in Basti, when young Nikita found herself confronted with a monkey intruder while playing with her 15-month-old niece on the sofa. With other family members in different rooms of the house, Nikita sprang into action when the monkey began rummaging through the kitchen, causing chaos.

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Despite feeling scared, Nikita spotted the Alexa device placed on the fridge. In a split-second decision, she commanded Alexa to emit the sound of a barking dog, hoping to terrify the monkey. To her relief, the tactic worked like a charm - the loud barking noise sent the monkey running out through the balcony, leaving the girls unharmed.

Recalling the harrowing experience, Nikita shared her thoughts with the news agencyANI, stating, “A few guests visited our home and they left the gate open. Monkeys entered the kitchen and started throwing things here and there. The kid was scared and so did I but then I saw Alexa and asked it to play the sound of a dog. Because of that barking sound, the monkeys were scared and ran away.”

#WATCH | Uttar Pradesh: A girl named Nikita in Basti district saved her younger sister and herself by using the voice of the Alexa device when monkeys entered their home.

Nikita says, "A few guests visited our home and they left the gate open. Monkeys entered the kitchen and… pic.twitter.com/hldLA0wvZS

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Nikita's mother, Shipra Ojha, commended her daughter's quick thinking, acknowledging that it saved both girls from potential harm. "Both their lives were saved by such good use of the Alexa device," she expressed to ANI. “We were in another room but due to the wisdom of daughter Nikita, she asked the Alexa to make the sound of a dog and hearing the sound the monkey ran away.”

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The incident underscores the versatility of Alexa, Amazon's cloud-based virtual assistant, which can perform a range of tasks from checking the weather to controlling smart home devices. In this instance, it proved to be a lifesaving tool, showing the potential of technology to aid in unexpected situations.