Amid the bustling holiday shopping season, Amazon is strategically vying for a competitive advantage in the realm of consumer AI. Their approach involves the incorporation of new generative AI features into Alexa, their versatile digital assistant that seamlessly spans various devices. Amazon's recent announcement prominently showcases the debut of "Explore with Alexa," a feature meticulously crafted to meet the requirements of children.
Explore with Alexa is designed to provide children with more personalized and age-appropriate responses to their inquiries. Amazon has stated that this feature will be included in the Amazon Kids+ monthly subscription and accessible on any Amazon Echo device with a child profile.
When children ask Alexa questions related to animals and nature, Explore with Alexa will respond with engaging facts and trivia, drawing from reputable sources like the World Wildlife Fund and A-Z Animals, according to the company.
Arjun Venkataswamy, Senior Product Manager of Alexa Kids, explained, "Our LLM stack makes it possible to adapt this vetted content into natural, kid-friendly responses with age-appropriate vocabulary. We first started with trivia questions because, aside from them being fun, they take advantage of a well-researched educational technique called 'activating prior knowledge.'"
Amazon mentioned that the enhanced Alexa will enable kids to learn on demand by using the wake-up command and asking a question. The service will also present prompting questions to maintain children's engagement and encourage further exploration of a particular topic.
Venkataswamy added, "Explore with Alexa includes the same accessibility focus and features as Alexa overall. As part of the hybrid human and AI evaluation process, we review all Explore with Alexa content to ensure that it's inclusive for kids with a wide range of backgrounds."
Amazon, like Google and Microsoft, has made substantial investments in generative AI technology, including a $4 billion investment in OpenAI competitor Anthropic, the creator of Claude AI. In September, the e-commerce giant unveiled various new AI-powered products, expanding its line of smart home devices.
However, adapting generative AI for children has been a sensitive issue, with watchdog groups and policymakers expressing concerns about technology accessible to minors. On Tuesday, 34 states filed a lawsuit against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, alleging that it manipulates children through its algorithms to increase their time spent on the platforms, contributing to teenage mental health issues.
Venkataswamy emphasized, "Building on our long-term commitment to maintain the trust of our customers and their families, Explore with Alexa prioritizes trust and safety. We implement content guardrails, beginning with safe, objective topics like animals, adapting content from reliable sources, and employing a combination of human and AI review."
While AI developers are focused on safeguarding children online, concerns about data collection, storage, and access to AI model data remain paramount. Tech companies such as Apple and Samsung, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the U.S. Space Force have restricted or prohibited employees and service members from using ChatGPT due to concerns about data leaks and the loss of intellectual property.
Recent reports have suggested that Amazon trains its AI models using customer conversations, reviving concerns from 2019 when it was revealed that Amazon engaged human contractors to listen to Alexa recordings. An Amazon spokesperson clarified that customers can opt out of sharing their data with the company.
The spokesperson stated, "Amazon has always believed that training Alexa with real-world requests is essential to delivering an experience to customers that's accurate and personalized and constantly improving. Simultaneously, we give customers control over whether their Alexa voice recordings are used to enhance the service, and we always respect our customers' preferences when training our models."