Orwell and Huxley offered differing, yet equally frightening, glimpses of our future. Each were, in their way, more prescient than they might have dreaded.
Orwell, for instance, envisioned the “telescreen”, which not only beams a constant diet of propaganda, but spies on the citizens of Oceania. Huxley, separately, imagined a society where children were no longer raised by parents, but in state-run creches.
Big Tech is making both come true.
Google and Amazon are already spying on their customers, 24/7, via devices like Alexa.
Now Amazon wants Alexa to take over one of the most important roles of a parent.
Amazon says its Alexa digital assistant can now be a reading buddy for children, coaching them when they get stuck on words.
A “Reading Sidekick” feature gives people with Echo smart speakers and subscriptions to Amazon Kids+ service a way to help children ages between five and 10 years of age become better readers, according to the Seattle-based internet firm.
Alexa will read stories aloud to children while also encouraging them to participate.
Reading to their children is one of the most important things parents can do.
It’s also one of the most rewarding. The mutual closeness of snuggling in a chair before bedtime, or sitting beside the bed, reading. Making up character voices, conjuring up drama and magic and stimulating a child’s imagination.
I read to my kids from just a few months old, starting with simple point-and-say picture books, making funny animal noises. Books are tactile as well, from toddlers’ animal picture books with special textures, to the simple act of tracing words with a finger as you read, drawing that connection between the printed and spoken word. I continued to read to my kids until well into primary school, moving on to classics like the Narnia novels.
But sure, replace all that with an impersonal lump of plastic.
“With the arrival of Reading Sidekick, we are hopeful we can make reading fun for millions of kids to set them up for a lifetime of learning and a love of reading,” said Marissa Mierow, head of Alexa Education and Learning.
“Alexa provides a welcoming, no-judgment zone and is always ready to help and to read.” Subscriptions to the Kids+ service offering books, movies, TV shows, educational apps, and games start at $US3 monthly.
With Sidekick, children can tell Alexa it is time to read, mentioning the title of the book in hand and telling the digital assistant whether they want many or few turns reading aloud.
As children read, Alexa praises progress and offers prompts when they are stuck on words, according to Amazon.
If a child continues struggling, Alexa shifts to a read-after-me mode. Parents using the service will be able to see how much time their children spend reading and which books, Amazon said.
The Australian
Or maybe… parents could sit with their children and actually read to them?
Nah, outsource it to a global technology company instead. What could go wrong?
As one commenter neatly summed up: “This, here, is corporate evil”.
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