Wednesday 28 September 2022 08:32 AM Are Alexa and Siri making our children DUMB? trends now

Wednesday 28 September 2022 08:32 AM Are Alexa and Siri making our children DUMB? trends now
Wednesday 28 September 2022 08:32 AM Are Alexa and Siri making our children DUMB? trends now

Wednesday 28 September 2022 08:32 AM Are Alexa and Siri making our children DUMB? trends now

Alexa, Siri and Google Home might be making children less intelligent and socially stunted, it was claimed today.

The voice-controlled devices — popular in homes across the world — allow users to ask questions and receive answers.

But this may impede youngster's learning skills, critical thinking and empathy, says Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University.

Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, says this is down to the tech only offering short and concise answers to questions, inappropriate responses and being unable to give feedback on their social skills. Pictured: Amazon Echo

Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, says this is down to the tech only offering short and concise answers to questions, inappropriate responses and being unable to give feedback on their social skills. Pictured: Amazon Echo

HOW COULD SMART DEVICES AFFECT CHILDREN'S DEVELOPMENT? 

Alexa, Siri and Google Home might be making children less intelligent and socially stunted, according to an artificial intelligence expert.

The voice-controlled devices — which allow users to ask questions and receive answers — may impede youngster's learning skills, critical thinking and empathy.

Dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, says this is down to the tech only offering short and concise answers to questions, inappropriate responses and being unable to give feedback on their social skills. 

On top of his concerns, the tech has previously come under fire after studies showed just how reliant children were on them.

One found that children speak to their Alexa, Siri or Google Home more than their grandparents.

Results from a survey of 1,200 six to 11-year-olds in the UK show that they youngsters use the devices every day — compared to speaking to their grandparents once every 10 days.

The same poll found that nearly three quarters admitted that they didn't say 'please' or 'thank you' when speaking to the smart speakers.

And one in three said they turned to their device for answers rather than their parents. 

Additionally, parents have reported turning to the devices to read their children bedtime stories. 

Neuroscience and education experts have raised concerns that the tech risks becoming a 'substitute for human interaction'. 

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Writing in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, Dr Arora warned that the devices may make youngsters less intelligent. 

Children can ask a question and receive a 'concise' and 'specific' answer — but this goes against how they traditionally learn and absorb information, he said.

For comparison, when an adult responds to a youngster's question, they can add context, explain the limits of their knowledge and unpick the child's reasoning.

But smart devices can't replicate this process, Dr Arora argued.

And easy access to answers may result in children not searching for the information themselves — a process required for them to learn critical thinking and logical reasoning, he said.

The tech may also give children inappropriate and potentially dangerous responses. 

Dr Arora pointed to reports of Amazon's Alexa telling a 10-year-old to plug in a phone charge halfway and touch a coin to the exposed prongs.

He noted that it is difficult to monitor responses and enforce 'robust parental controls on such devices without severely affecting their functionality'.

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