Teh One Who Knocks
02-27-2017, 12:44 PM
By Joe Sheppard For Mailonline
http://i.imgur.com/KC0tgs0.jpg
Parents are becoming increasingly concerned that their children, who grow up shouting orders at voice-activated gadgets, could be growing up to be spoilt and entitled.
Households across the UK are increasingly using virtual servants, such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, on their smartphones and tablets.
The obedient programmes are able to understand and respond to orders using artificial intelligence.
They have had a large impact on how people use their gadgets and can be used used to search the web, check the weather, run apps or set alarms.
Amazon uses Alexa on its smart Echo speaker system to respond to orders on what songs to play.
But as such programmes become the norm in the family home, more and more parents are complaining that the submissive search assistants are having a detrimental effect on their children's manners.
They fear their youngsters are being taught that merely speaking clearly is enough to get them what they want without any need for asking politely.
Even former Google executive Hunter Walk said in a blog post last year that the Amazon Echo was turning his daughter into a brat.
He added: 'The prompt command to activate the Echo is "Alexa…" not "Alexa, please". And Alexa doesn't require a 'thank you' before it's ready to perform another task.
http://i.imgur.com/vEkOnQ1.jpg
'Learning at a young age is often about repetitive norms and cause/effect.
'Cognitively I'm not sure a kid gets why you can boss Alexa around but not a person.'
Paul Howard-Jones, professor of neuroscience and education at Bristol University, told The Times that the 'the risk only arises if the technology becomes a substitute for human interaction'.
http://i.imgur.com/3izwz8O.jpg
And Lucy Hume, at etiquette authority Debrett's, also believes a child's manners are dictated by observing how people speak to each other in the real world.
She said: 'Children learn by example, so if they hear their parents speaking politely to a digital assistant they’ll pick up on that.
'However, I think children can tell the difference between a robot and a human being and act accordingly.'
http://i.imgur.com/KC0tgs0.jpg
Parents are becoming increasingly concerned that their children, who grow up shouting orders at voice-activated gadgets, could be growing up to be spoilt and entitled.
Households across the UK are increasingly using virtual servants, such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa, on their smartphones and tablets.
The obedient programmes are able to understand and respond to orders using artificial intelligence.
They have had a large impact on how people use their gadgets and can be used used to search the web, check the weather, run apps or set alarms.
Amazon uses Alexa on its smart Echo speaker system to respond to orders on what songs to play.
But as such programmes become the norm in the family home, more and more parents are complaining that the submissive search assistants are having a detrimental effect on their children's manners.
They fear their youngsters are being taught that merely speaking clearly is enough to get them what they want without any need for asking politely.
Even former Google executive Hunter Walk said in a blog post last year that the Amazon Echo was turning his daughter into a brat.
He added: 'The prompt command to activate the Echo is "Alexa…" not "Alexa, please". And Alexa doesn't require a 'thank you' before it's ready to perform another task.
http://i.imgur.com/vEkOnQ1.jpg
'Learning at a young age is often about repetitive norms and cause/effect.
'Cognitively I'm not sure a kid gets why you can boss Alexa around but not a person.'
Paul Howard-Jones, professor of neuroscience and education at Bristol University, told The Times that the 'the risk only arises if the technology becomes a substitute for human interaction'.
http://i.imgur.com/3izwz8O.jpg
And Lucy Hume, at etiquette authority Debrett's, also believes a child's manners are dictated by observing how people speak to each other in the real world.
She said: 'Children learn by example, so if they hear their parents speaking politely to a digital assistant they’ll pick up on that.
'However, I think children can tell the difference between a robot and a human being and act accordingly.'