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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/16/2017 8:41:03 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Echo...
My husband changed the name of ours to "Echo" because he thought "Alexa" would be too difficult for the kids to say. (They're 5 and 2.) Anyway, I hated the idea of getting one, much less two. But we did. And now I'm glad we did. It is so much easier to say, "Echo, add milk to the grocery list." And then know it's on my phone when we get to the store. (Of course my 5-year-old figured this out and now we perpetually have "cookies" on our shopping list.) Speaking commands is amazing. And I'm not sure there is much cuter in this world than my 2-year-old yelling "Echo! Play 'What Fox Say' Say It Loud" across the house. Especially since when the device doesn't hear him he just starts screaming, "Eeeee-kkkkkkk-oooooo!" 

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Michelle
Michelle
8/16/2017 9:50:44 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Elizabeth I really enjoyed reading about your experiences with Alexa. I imagine your kids are getting pretty good at using it. Voice assistants are changing childhood in the funniest ways. Future human-computer interactions will be colored by these little darlings who grew up commanding Alexa.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/17/2017 9:58:14 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Michelle - It really is going to create a game changer for future generations. Some already stipulated the need for "spelling" would go out the window since computers offer spell check. (If only Facebook would offer a checker to catch the various 'to' and 'your' spellings, it would save me a lot of irritation when I read other people's posts......) 

Actual conversation I recently saw on Facebook: 

1: your wrong.

2: You spelled "you're" wrong.

1: I didn't spell you're wrong, I didn't even use a contraction.

2: That's the point......

Oh, I laughed so hard. I still crack up about that...... But it may all just be for naught if the written language is going to continue to devolve. This breaks my heart, but appears to be the case.

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Ariella
Ariella
8/17/2017 1:28:05 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@elizabethv Having taught college comp back in the last century, I can tell you that these kinds of errors are not just due to the advance of tech.

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Michelle
Michelle
8/17/2017 2:00:24 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
Oh wow! Spelling and grammar on Facebook is awful. Some people have an aversion to punctionation as well. It's very difficult to know what they're trying to say...

I think our computers will have to get a lot smarter if they're going to do the right thing in context. Language is tricky even for humans who grow up speaking one!

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Ariella
Ariella
8/17/2017 1:29:28 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Michelle there was an article on this subject at MIT Review: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608430/growing-up-with-alexa/ 

Growing Up with Alexa

What will it do to kids to have digital butlers they can boss around?



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Michelle
Michelle
8/17/2017 2:01:46 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Ariella I've read a bit about parents who are worried about kids growing up without manners. They boss the computer and speak the same way to humans. 

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Ariella
Ariella
8/17/2017 2:12:41 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Michelle but I don't think it's really about the tech. There are kids who grow up with housekeeprs in the house who also expect to be served and never to have to clean up after themselves.

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Michelle
Michelle
8/17/2017 4:28:07 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Ariella good point!

Did you happen to see this job posting on LinkedIn? 

Lead Alexa Personality Writer

"Do you have a talent for engaging people and making them laugh? Can you lead a team of writers, create process and guidelines, and run a daily production calendar, all while creating funny, timely and engaging content to fill it with? If so, we'd love to talk with you!"

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/378404814/

Digital assistants are doing more than changing life at home, they're changing work too.

I still don't think TVs need digital assistant capabilities :D

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Ariella
Ariella
8/17/2017 5:20:51 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Michelle, funny, I actually am connected to someone who works there, though we are at opposite ends of the country.

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/18/2017 10:32:52 AM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Ariella: I know an Amazon alumnus or two myself -- but they found their way there via acquisition.

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Ariella
Ariella
8/18/2017 10:38:33 AM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Joe did they find the company culture changed from what they orginally signed on for?

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/18/2017 11:47:21 AM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Ariella: I haven't discussed this in depth with him, but the person I know who used to be there has had only highly positive things about his experience.

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Ariella
Ariella
8/18/2017 11:52:47 AM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Joe I'm glad it worked out for that person. One: that the job was retained, and Two: that they find the atmosphere a positive one.

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/18/2017 10:34:04 AM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@Ariella: That headline seems a mite alarmist to me. Sure, it's much more advanced technology, but for all of the issues with that kind of technology, I really don't think it's going to do *much* more damage to kids than, say, Teddy Ruxpin.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/24/2017 9:36:56 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Joe - Teddy Ruxpin - that's a decent, and also quite humorous comparison to make. Talking toys have existed for a few decades now. I think a lot of people, particularly those without kids, are quick to discount just how much kids learn from observing. (It's INSANE!) So while they might spend some time bossing around an electronic device, assuming they also spend time with their parents and watch humans interact in other ways, most kids won't have any trouble at all. 

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/28/2017 4:35:01 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@elizabethv: Indeed. I'm much more concerned about what children are learning by how their parents or teachers may "boss them around" than about how children might "boss around" their toys.

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/23/2017 9:08:50 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Ariella - That's crazy! I'm just going to go back to my typical response for things like this - that's where parenting needs to come in. You can't let your kids think the way they speak to "Echo" in my kids case, is the way they should speak to people. It's the responsibilty of the parent to correct that behaviour. And it's the responsibility of the parent to make sure kids can spell and have good grammar. Maybe that's why I home school? 

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/28/2017 4:36:17 PM
User Rank
Author
Re: Echo...
@elizabethv: I don't use Alexa/Echo, but I've definitely sworn at/used inappropriate language at digital voice assistants when I've been frustrated that they can't understand me.

I'm not proud of that fact. It just is. ;)

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afwriter
afwriter
8/29/2017 10:17:08 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Joe, Nothing is more frustrating than when the Echo either doesn't understand you are just won't listen. I have unplugged it a few times out of pure frustration. 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/31/2017 8:09:08 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Joe - if you've only ever sworn at digital voice assistants, I think you're ahead of the game. I swear at computers without any kind of voice assitant all the time. My mother-in-law created an entire language so she could swear at her sewing machine in front of the kids. Then her kids learned the language, and use it to swear in front of our kids. (I can't for the life of me get this language down.) I thinking swearing at inanimate objects is just something we tend to do, and I doubt kids today will be any different as they grow.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
8/30/2017 1:24:02 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
Yeah it really is the parents responsibility! Kids soak in everything and don't know the difference in communication a lot of the time.

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Michelle
Michelle
8/17/2017 2:02:36 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@Elizabeth Can Alexa understand commands that include "please" and "thank you"?

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afwriter
afwriter
8/29/2017 10:18:15 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
Our household was one of the first couple thousand to have the Echo and my kids (and myself) are still trying to figure out all of Alexa's quirks. 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
8/31/2017 8:11:05 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Echo...
@afwriter - That's awesome that you were one of the first! I still have my doubts about the whole thing, but overall I enjoy it way more than I worry about it. And I'm told all of the time that we aren't supposed to let our fears run our life anyway, so I guess we're moving in the right direction. Though a required password before adding things to the list would be nice.... Scratch that, they'd hear the password and it would never matter anyway. I guess I'll just keep ignoring the desire for "cookies" on my grocery list.......

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Joe Stanganelli
Joe Stanganelli
8/18/2017 10:32:02 AM
User Rank
Author
Voice assist
I think it depends on how that data continues to be handled and how the handling of that voice data can be innovated upon. 5G, obviously, will help.

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