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Tell HN: Alexa is confused about leap years

6 points by FearNotDaniel ↗ HN
Me: Alexa, what's the last day of February 2020?

Alexa: The 28th of February is the last day of February, and it falls on a Friday in 2020.

Me: Alexa, is 2020 a leap year?

Alexa: Yes, 2020 is a leap year.

Me: Alexa, what is the last day of February in a leap year?

Alexa: The 28th of February is the last day of February, and it falls on a Friday in 2020.

Me: Alexa, what is a leap year?

Alexa: A leap year is a year that contains an extra day, the 29th of February...

Me: Alexa, what day is the 29th of February 2020?

Alexa: I couldn't find any matches.

2 comments

[ 6.5 ms ] story [ 28.5 ms ] thread
masonic
Unfortunately, all responses are consistent with the idea that the world gets destroyed on 28 February 2020.
ksaj
It makes me wonder how serious this is as a bug. If part of the programming understands leap years, but other parts don't understand the ramifications, it is entirely possible for things to go wonky when dealing with dates such as "The last Saturday of February 2020," or how it'll handle things either on, or scheduled on that day or some time thereafter.

How many days elapse between Friday and Sunday in that week? Depending on what it uses to count, you could get pretty wild answers.

Lots of ways this could go south.