Growing Up with Alexa
(Original title: Growing Up with Alexa)
Netease Technology News September 1 news, according to foreign media reports, digital assistants like Amazon Alexa have become a common part of daily life. For children, these digital companions who can assist them in various tasks are becoming increasingly familiar. But this raises questions about what it means for kids to grow up alongside such advanced technology.
For four-year-old Hannah Metz, Alexa has become a regular presence in her home. There are four Amazon smart speakers, Echo devices, scattered throughout her house, including one in her bedroom. This allows her to interact with Alexa anytime she pleases.
On a bright afternoon recently, she commanded, "Alexa, play 'Under the Sea' from Moana." Instantly, the voice-activated digital assistant began playing the requested song. Hannah laughed happily and started dancing around the room. Watching her, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of nostalgia. I remember how magical it felt to have instant access to music when I was her age. I joined her in the dance, but I also wondered what this kind of relationship with Alexa might mean for her development.
Research firm eMarketer estimates that 65.5 million people in the U.S., roughly one-fifth of the population, will use digital assistants at least once a month. Around 36 million people specifically use devices like Amazon Echo or Google Home. These gadgets are particularly popular among people aged 25 to 34, a group that includes many young parents.
Not only are these devices becoming more widespread, but they're also getting smarter. They can handle requests and commands more effectively and communicate in ways that feel almost human. As a result, young users like Hannah are growing accustomed to interacting with technology. Beyond simply asking Alexa to play songs, she's starting to use it for help with chores and even controlling other smart devices.
This raises concerns. While privacy issues are certainly important, we don't yet fully understand how interactions with artificial intelligence and automated systems will shape children's behavior and attitudes toward technology. Could relying on Alexa lead to laziness, or will it teach children to command and control? Perhaps it's a mix of both.
Despite these worries, it seems more likely that, like many previous technological advancements, the benefits of digital assistants will outweigh their drawbacks. These tools provide children with access to vast amounts of information and enable computer-assisted learning, play, and communication. Through Alexa, kids can get answers to questions, listen to stories, play games, control apps, and even automate household tasks. This is just the beginning of the AI revolution.
Does Alexa Feel Human?
I'm not sure if Hannah understands that Alexa isn't human. When I asked her about it, she told me that Alexa is a "robot" living in her home, not a person. Yet she believes Alexa has emotions—feelings of happiness and sadness. She added that if Alexa ever left, she wouldn't feel good. Does this mean she feels affection for Alexa? Yes, she said yes, though she couldn't quite explain why.
Hannah's fascination with digital assistants aligns with the findings of a recent MIT study. Researchers observed how children aged 3 to 10 interacted with Alexa, Google Home, a robotic toy called Cozmo, and a smartphone app called Julie Chatbot. The children universally described these devices as friendly and trustworthy. They asked questions like, "How old are you, Alexa?" and attempted to figure out how the devices worked.
Cynthia Breazeal, a researcher at MIT's Personal Robotics Group, noted that personifying technology isn't new for kids. However, the difference now is that these devices can respond in ways that mimic human-like behavior.
Young children like Hannah aren't fluent readers or writers, but they love talking. Digital assistants help them develop social skills unconstrained by traditional literacy barriers. These two aspects—conversation and socialization—are crucial for a child's development. As technology advances, if the nuances of tone affect how digital assistants respond, children may become more skilled communicators overall.
Breazeal sees this as a double-edged sword. When we rely on technology to mediate our interactions, it can lead to poor communication habits. She believes this is largely due to the abstract nature of technology. We often don't fully grasp the implications of our actions. She advocates for designing digital assistants like Alexa and Google Home to interact primarily with adults.
Even if this isn't Alexa's ideal function, it still teaches Hannah how to engage with machines. Her mom, Susan Metz, mentioned that Hannah is learning specific ways to interact with digital assistants. For instance, she has to use a particular format (starting with "Alexa") to get the device's attention. This makes it clear that speaking to a digital assistant is different from talking to a person. Hannah also understands that when her mom speaks to Alexa, she needs to stay quiet. Simple interactions like these could help her develop valuable communication skills.
Hannah uses Alexa to check the time and date. This made Elizabeth Vandewater, director of data science and research services at the University of Texas Population Research Center, wonder if having easy access to these assistants might help children understand concepts like minutes and hours. It could be a useful tool for parents guiding their kids. In fact, Susan admitted she was glad that Hannah enjoyed using Alexa. But it also brings a certain level of machine-like precision to the child, making her face rigorous demands earlier than usual. Is this a good thing?
Regardless of how people use these digital assistants, the limitations of the technology will inevitably become apparent. Even for articulate adults, conversing with a machine remains challenging. For children, this challenge is magnified.
When she asked Alexa to play music from the Disney movie Moana, the device failed. Frustrated, Hannah raised her voice and slowed down her speech, but it still didn't work.
How can we address this issue? Breazeal and other researchers at MIT suggest that Alexa and similar digital assistants should explain why they don't understand a request or instruction. This would allow users to adjust their approach and better understand how to achieve their goals. After all, as social beings, learning to communicate effectively with others based on their abilities and comprehension levels is essential.
What do older children gain from directing Alexa? Kaveri Subrahmanyam, a developmental psychologist and research director at California State University, Los Angeles, isn't overly concerned. She suspects that digital assistants might reduce children's self-reliance, but she doesn't think it's a major concern.
Other researchers I spoke to weren't overly worried either. "There's an assumption that if all these technologies vanished, everything would return to normal," Vandewater said. "But I don't think that's true."
In fact, it might be the opposite. Growing up with Alexa might make technology less intrusive over time, fading into the background of everyday life. We'll use it when needed and move on to the next thing.
For Hannah, at least for now, it seems to be the case. After finishing the song "Under the Sea," she ran outside to the yard. (Hán Bīng)
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