Many children believe that artificial intelligences such as Alexa and Siri may have human-like minds – GIGAZINE

Children today are exposed to AI assistants like Alexa and Siri from an early age, and sometimes even talk to them as if they were human acquaintances. A new study has found that children overestimate the intelligence of artificial intelligence, with many believing that artificial intelligence may have human-like feelings and thinking abilities.

Alexa doesn't have a lot of feelings: Children's understanding of artificial intelligence through interaction with smart speakers in their homes
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666920X23000553

The study found that children may overestimate the abilities of smart speakers
https://edinburghuni-newsroom.prgloo.com/news/children-may-overestimate-smart-speakers-abilities-study-finds

Study finds many kids unsure if Alexa and Siri have feelings or think like humans Live Science
https://www.livescience.com/health/psychology/many-kids-are-unsure-if-alexa-and-siri-have-feelings-or-think-like-people-study-finds

Voice-based AI assistants like Alexa and Siri are ubiquitous in many homes, and children interact with these AI assistants on a daily basis. There, EnglandUniversity of EdinburghThe research team fromScotlandWe surveyed 166 children ages 6 to 11 living in the United States, asking them what they thought of Alexa and smart speakers.

Of the children surveyed, 93% said they have a smart speaker at home. Children used the devices to listen to music, ask questions, look up information, ask for help with homework, and listen to jokes and stories.

As a result of the survey, it was found that although these children are familiar with AI assistants, a large percentage of them believe that AI has feelings and decision-making abilities similar to humans. Less than a third of children believed that “intelligent speakers can think for themselves to some extent”, and 40% said that intelligent speakers might be able to think for themselves. Children generally believed that AI like Alexa was smarter than them and that they should not disrespect the device.

On the other hand, children did not think of smart speakers as humans; About 80% of them correctly identified smart speakers as “AI” and 15% answered as “things.” However, a large percentage believe that “even if Alexa breaks, you shouldn't throw away your device.” Nearly 68% of 8-year-olds and 37% of 11-year-olds believe a broken device is equipped with AI. The device must be disposed of. I said no.

A co-author of the paper is a computer scientist at the University of Edinburgh.Judy Robertson“Artificial intelligence is already part of most children's lives and will play an increasingly important role in the future. Artificial intelligence is often designed to appear more human and intelligent than it actually is,” the professor said. What can be done to address this problem is: “Schools must teach children AI skills, and technology designers must ensure that children do not misunderstand that AI products are human-like entities. There are two things we should be careful about.”