When I was having dinner at a younger relative’s house a few months ago, I accidentally made everyone giggle when I spoke to Alexa.
“Hi Alexa, can you please tell me what the weather forecast is for next weekend, thanks?” I asked. I don’t have Alexa so I had no idea that’s not how you talk to her. I didn’t understand what I had done wrong.
‘Why are you talking like that?’ someone asked. I looked blank. “You’re so polite,” said the hostess, who is in her mid-20s. “You don’t have to say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’.” She demonstrated by swearing at the poor device.
“It just sounds a little . . . rude,” I winced. “It’s like having a slave.” Everyone laughed and rolled their eyes at how quaint and old fashioned I was.
I know it’s just a machine and has no feelings, but it still felt harsh and, well, a little bit awful. Surely it’s a slippery slope from barking commands at a machine to yelling at real people?
So last week, I felt somewhat reassured when I read that experts had raised concerns that Alexa, Siri and Google Home – voice-controlled devices popular in homes around the world – could have long-term consequences for children. The concern is that these machines could impair children’s learning abilities, critical thinking and—as I suspected—empathy.
DR. MAX PEMBERTON (pictured): There is no doubt that technology has been a force for good. But please don’t tell me that it doesn’t also have a negative impact on the development of young people
dr Anmol Arora, a researcher at Cambridge University, argued that the devices could affect children’s development for a number of reasons. When they ask a question, they get a ‘concrete’ and ‘concise’ answer, but this goes against the typical learning behavior of children.
Traditionally, children piece information together to create a knowledge web, rather than trying to assimilate random facts that don’t necessarily belong together or have context, or, crucially, an explanation to justify the answer.
So the knowledge they get from the devices may be technically correct, but it’s nowhere near as rewarding as if the child had asked a real, live person the question.
It gives them the knowledge – but not the understanding. Because they don’t have to search for the answer, they don’t encourage their critical thinking or logical thinking.
And it’s not just young children who are affected. I’ve noticed this in doctors in their 20s who are so used to having every bit of knowledge at their fingertips thanks to internet search engines that they seem to lack the ability to extrapolate and answer any question they can’t google. They lack the ability to solve problems or use their knowledge to solve unusual clinical problems they encounter.
If you find this alarming, consider Dr. Arora’s other suggestion: that devices like Alexa could also hinder children’s social development precisely because voice assistants can’t teach them how to be polite — there’s no need to say “please” or “thank you.” or use a considerate tone of voice.
“The lack of ability for non-verbal communication makes using the devices a poor method for learning social interactions. While in normal human interactions a child will typically receive feedback when they behave inappropriately, this is beyond the scope of a smart device,” argued Dr. Arora. In other words, Alexa can’t accuse them of being rude.
Ready for another depressing fact? Research has shown that children in a household with a device talk to it every day, while they only talk to their grandparents every ten days.
The same poll found that nearly three-quarters admit they didn’t say “please” or “thank you” when speaking to the smart speakers. I can’t help but think this must be affecting her interactions with people. What’s the difference between asking Alexa to play the latest Taylor Swift single and asking for help in a store?
Devices like Alexa could also hinder children’s social development precisely because voice assistants can’t teach them polite behavior — there’s no need to say “please” or “thank you” or use a considerate tone of voice (file image).
Words like “please,” “thank you,” and “excuse me” are powerful social lubricants. They keep the world running smoothly, they signify respect and humility. They are a recognition of the humanity of others. Isn’t that incredibly important?
It’s short-sighted that we’re not paying more attention to the impact technology is having on the younger generation.
I think part of the lack of English standards is due to technology – copywriting has left kids unaccustomed to forming proper sentences.
These devices also affect young people’s non-verbal communication — including things like eye contact. A colleague recently told me how many children she meets today find it difficult to look her in the eye.
I noticed this during a talk I was giving to teenagers in a disadvantaged part of London as part of a project to encourage more people to apply to university. Afterward, they dutifully lined up to speak to me, and I was amazed at how few of them actually looked at me.
Instead, they stared at the floor and mumbled. I realized that they are so used to communicating via instant messaging that they don’t know how to interact with someone sitting across from them.
There is no doubt that technology has been a force for good. But please don’t tell me that it doesn’t also have a negative impact on the development of young people. Many Thanks.
A doctor who offered to pray for patients was forced to take a class on boundaries. But isn’t that an example of a holistic doctor? The reality is that prayer can be powerful. I remember Tennyson saying, “More things are accomplished by prayer than this world dreams.”
There’s no shame in being a young mother
Former Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague is expecting a baby with partner Tommy Fury. Some have criticized her for being too young to start a family. They argue that she has barely lived. Gosh, isn’t it weird how settings change? About a generation ago, 23 would have been a perfectly acceptable age to have a child. My mother had me in her early 30s and was considered a geriatric mother.
Also, Molly has endometriosis, which can affect fertility, so surely having a young baby is better than risking a life of worries by giving up too late and realizing it’s not possible? At a recent BBQ, I was amazed that out of the six couples there, five had undergone fertility treatment. All women had put off motherhood because of their careers, and some now lamented that decision.
Former Love Island contestant Molly-Mae Hague is expecting a baby with partner Tommy Fury (pictured together)
■ Last week’s shocking BBC Panorama inquest into a mental hospital should leave the NHS hanging in shame. The undercover exposé showed NHS carers locking an autistic woman in a tiny room for almost a month. Psychiatrists also hit, pinched, and verbally abused patients. While this program focused on one entity, it is clear that this type of shocking abuse occurs elsewhere.
It’s not just the examples of blatant abuse that annoy me. I worry about the insidious neglect that goes on in so many facilities – where residents are often fed and watered but little else. I know all the explanations for this – poorly paid staff, insufficient training, burnout from the stress of the job and so on. But at some point I just think: Enough of the excuses. It has to get better – now!
dr Max prescribes… My favorite sleeping pill
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