VOICE-controlled devices such as Amazon’s Echo speakers and Google Home devices could be slowing down children’s development.
Experts say the gadgets may have “long-term consequences on empathy, compassion and critical thinking” among kids.
Millions of devices around the globe are loaded with artificial intelligence-driven smart assistants such as Alexa and Siri.
Children are frequently left to play with the devices alone, chatting or reading to them and getting human-like responses.
Using the devices as aids to help with young people’s speech and reading might have negative consequences, experts said.
The artificial intelligence (AI) driving the devices, combined with the human-sounding voices “may negatively affect children’s cognitive and social development,” researchers wrote in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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In the opinion piece, academics warned that smart speakers and other devices may have long-term effects on how a child grows up.
They claimed that potential impacts include “inappropriate responses”, “impeding social development” and “hindering learning opportunities.”
“The multiple impacts on children include inappropriate responses, impeding social development and hindering learning opportunities,” coauthor Anmol Arora, from from the University of Cambridge, said.
One problem, she added, is that children link human attributes to devices that are “essentially a list of trained words and sounds mashed together to make a sentence.”
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Kids can end up copying the devices, emulating the robotic way that they speak, which is bad for their development.
The machines also do not automatically expect children to say please or thank you, researchers said.
“The lack of ability to engage in non-verbal communication makes use of the devices a poor method of learning social interaction,” researchers wrote.
However, they highlighted the “magic word” function on Alexa – which uses positive reinforcement for polite manners as an “important step in the right direction”.
Some of the data used in the research is a decade old, and it has yet to be peer-reviewed.
That means scientists have not yet checked it to make sure it adheres to proper academic standards.
An Amazon spokesperson said: “Alexa is designed to provide accurate and helpful information.
“Many of our customers have told us that Amazon Kids on Alexa, Echo Dot Kids and Kids Skills are helping their children, including those with autism and ADHD.
“We believe voice technology will be a big part of the future and our goal is to provide an educational experience for kids combined with controls that give parents peace of mind.”
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