Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast: https://youtu.be/V3eQcWkwLWY   Information technologists from Utah’s Brigham Young University have a simple answer: NOT YET!  They studied 274 adult subjects to determine how they interact with digital assistants versus humans.   The researchers conclude that adults consistently code switch adding please and thank you to their requests of other human beings despite their tendencies to bark commands at their Amazon ECHOs and Apple iPhones.  Although they did not study children as yet, they suspect that kids may pick up bad habits from speaking to machines.     Apparently parents, Amazon, and Google have the same fears, and the tech giants have now added features that request and compliment polite orders from our children.  We as parents should mimic the machines and teach our kids that verbal honey always works better than vinegar.   Brigham Young University. "Are Siri and Alexa making us ruder? Study of 274 adults finds the answer -- for now." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 August 2019. www.scienceda