“Alexa, turn on the lights!” Digital voice assistants help many families organize their everyday lives. They have names like Alexa, Echo, Siri or Cortana and are used via so-called smart speakers or smartphones.
In order to adapt the use of the voice assistants to one’s own needs, so-called “skills” can be activated. Skills, like apps on smartphones, are small third-party utilities. Depending on the device, they are also called “actions” (Google) or “additional commands” (Apple). Skills are also used via voice commands.
They give the voice assistants additional functions and can therefore be used individually. Smart home skills ensure, for example, that lamps, thermostats or the TV can be controlled with the help of the voice assistant. Services can be used with service skills. For example, you can look for a suitable train connection, order a pizza from a delivery service or listen to the daily news. Such a voice command reads, for example: “Alexa, ask Deutsche Bahn for a connection from Berlin to Munich tomorrow at 12 o’clock”.
The selection of skills is large. Skills are practical supporters for everyday life, and not just for adults. There is also a wide range of offers for adolescents. For example, children can learn about the countries of the world through play via learning skills or listen to interactive audio stories of their favorite characters. Many companies, but also public broadcasters, make their offerings available in the form of skills, such as the children’s news from KiRaKa or Mikado. The variety of child-friendly skills also opens up many application possibilities for families. Timetable Skills inform parents and children quickly and easily. The teeth brushing skill makes the daily routine easier. Joint games about skills with digital dice cups or imaginary memory cards can also enrich everyday family life. In memory, for example, a pair always consists of two identical sounds and is numbered so that an assignment can be made orally.
When using voice assistants and skills, you should be aware that they are always listening when switched on. Thus, a great deal of personal data and information is collected. How these are stored and processed depends on the respective provider and is not always communicated transparently. With some providers, the voice recording histories can be deleted. Read more in our article Smarter family life with Alexa & Co.?.
The data processing of the individual skills should also be checked with the respective external provider before installation. By using the skills, you agree to the transmission of usage data to the third-party provider. Therefore, when choosing should be well informed.
Skills are for the most part available free of charge. In the meantime, however, there are isolated so-called in-skill purchases. These are, similar to apps, advanced features that are chargeable. When looking for skills for kids, keep this in mind.
As helpful as the digital assistants are, you should still inform yourself carefully before activating them. There is a wide range of extensions. Some skills seem okay at first glance, but they can be used to access content that is not suitable for adolescents. For this reason, it is also advisable to secure adult content and orders with a code. Furthermore, voice assistants should be turned off overnight, at least when you or your family is not at home. Educate your child about how voice assistants and skills work and the disadvantages they bring.
Turning on the radio play for the child, coordinating the appointments of family members while preparing dinner or ordering the groceries for the weekend by voice – all this has already become part of everyday life for some families with the arrival of so-called voice assistants. They are called Alexa, Siri or simply Google and are used via smartphone or directly via speaker. More and more children are learning how to use them from an early age. Using Alexa as an example, we explain what’s behind it and what you should watch out for.
The digital voice assistants work like intelligent speakers with an integrated microphone. You address them with a keyword like “Alexa” or “Echo” and then say what you would like, for example: “Alexa, play my favorite music!”. This command is transmitted via the Internet. To do this, the voice assistants must be connected to other devices or applications, such as music streaming services, be connected. The spoken words reach the provider via WLAN or Bluetooth to implement the command. Alexa or another voice assistant also responds by “she” answering questions, for example.
This is possible because voice assistants bring home multiple speakers with microphones. Alexa listens to you 24 hours, day and night. What happens to all that very personal data and information? The privacy policies of Alexa and Co. are opaque. It is not clear what exactly happens to a lot of private information that the speaker listens in on. If you actively press “mute” or the “microphone off” button on the device, Alexa does not record anything, according to Amazon. However, this means that the voice control can no longer be used actively. It is precisely this function that makes Alexa so attractive to many. If you want to ask Alexa something by voice for the sake of practical simplicity, you always have to let “her” listen in. So be aware that these devices potentially compromise your privacy and that of your family and guests. All people who are in your home should therefore be made aware of the existence of the device. In addition, the misuse of your data by third parties such as hackers cannot be ruled out with certainty. Direct commands to Alexa are stored in the form of audio files in a so-called cloud, i.e. online, and can be deleted individually. However, your data may also end up on servers in countries that do not meet EU data protection standards. Another point of criticism is that Alexa collects users’ personal data such as interests and circumstances in order to play out personalized advertising.
For children, the presence of Alexa in the family can quickly become normal, just like the way of speaking with “her”. Alexa can develop a lively character for your child through the female voice. At the same time, keep in mind that Alexa will respond even without common courtesies like a greeting or a “please” and “thank you.” This could be stored by your child as normal social interaction. In addition, since voice assistants usually have a female voice, your child may get the impression that it is normal to give commands to women. Another risk with active voice assistants is that your child may accidentally make online orders.
If you are interested in using a smart voice assistant like Alexa, discuss the pros and cons of such software with all family members. Everyone should agree with the purchase. If a family member or friend is named “Alexa”, choose a different activation word. Otherwise, unintended queries could be started and unwanted purchases could be made. Disable the WLAN on the device if you do not need it or mute the microphones. Think carefully about the settings you want to make on the device and what other services you want the voice assistant to be connected to.
