Are voice assistants like Alexa and Siri a bad influence on children?

A family in the United States plays a game of rock-paper-scissors with Amazon voice command personal assistant Alexa via a wireless speaker. A British expert worries that long-term exposure to such voice assistants can negatively affect a child’s social and emotional development. — TNS

Voice control smart devices, such as Alexa, Siri and Google Home, might hinder children’s social and emotional development, argues an expert in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in healthcare.

These devices might have long-term effects by impeding children’s critical thinking, capacity for empathy and compassion, and their learning skills, says Dr Anmol Arora, an academic physician at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.