Amazon's smart assistant Alexa can now be made to encourage children to say: "Please," and: "Thank you," when they ask it something. The new function addresses some parents' concerns that use of the technology was teaching their offspring to sound officious or even rude.
The move has been welcomed by one of Alexa's critics. In January, the research company ChildWise published a report warning that youngsters that grew up accustomed to giving orders to Alexa might become aggressive when they have to interact with humans.
“This is a very positive development," research director Simon Leggett said. "We had noticed that practically none of the children that we had talked to said they ever used the words 'please' or 'thank you' when talking to their devices.”
The politeness feature – which is called ‘Magic Word’ - encourages children to say "Please," and "Thank you," by acknowledging use of the terms. So, for example, if the child asks: "What will the weather be like today, please?" Alexa will add to its response: "Thanks for asking so nicely." Likewise, once Alexa has completed a task, if the child says: "Thank you," it will prompt one of several follow-ups, including "No worries," and "You're welcome."
Amazon intend to see how parents and children react to the feature, and if it is successful, they would probably extend its capabilities.