Fears have been growing that an all-out war could break out between NATO and Russia over the West’s support for Ukraine.
But no-one knows for certain when, or even if, World War 3 will actually break out.
No-one, that is, except Amazon’s AI assistant Alexa.
READ MORE: Kremlin says Boris Johnson's claim that Putin 'threatened to kill him' was a lie
A viral video that originated on TikTok shows the device responding to a question about the end of the world by saying: "World War 3 starts on November 23, 2023 at 6:05pm, when Russia launches an attack against Germany”.
But, while that chilling prediction could just turn out to be correct, the original source of the video clip suggests that it could be the work of a notorious TikTok trickster.
Jon Buckhouse specialises in posting spoof "Alexa responses” online.
Among his more popular clips are one claiming that Miami would be completely destroyed in a 2025 hurricane and another predicting a White House run for wrestler turned action star Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
That one is at least fairly plausible, with the former WWE star saying in 2021 that he would consider a political career if there was enough public demand.
“I do have that goal to unite our country and I also feel that if this is what the people want, then I will do that,” he told US TV’s Today show.
It’s not entirely clear how Jon persuades Alexa to make the dramatic prophecies, but researchers from online fact-checking service Snopes have suggested that he may be making use of "Alexa Blueprints."
Blueprints enables Alexa owners to create custom responses to specific questions – for example you can teach Alexa your WiFi password so it can remind you of it when needed.
When the tool was launched, Amazon suggested it might be useful to provide custom information such as emergency contact details to a babysitter, for example.
Steve Rabuchin, Vice President, Amazon Alexa, enthused: “Alexa Skill Blueprints is an entirely new way for you to teach Alexa personalised skills just for you and your family.
“You don’t need experience building skills or coding to get started—my family created our own jokes skill in a matter of minutes, and it’s been a blast to interact with Alexa in a totally new and personal way.”
But while he was promoting the device's powers, Steve didn’t mention anything about programming the ubiquitous household assistant with any Nostradamus-type abilities.
An Alexa spokesperson told the Daily Star: "This is not Alexa's response and we have not been able to replicate this video".
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