Researchers examined how children perceive smart assistants and domestic robots, contrasting Amazon’s Alexa with a popular robotic vacuum. American institutions, including Duke University, have contributed insights into how young minds interpret these devices.
In a study led by Teresa Flanagan and colleagues, 127 children aged between 4 and 11 visited a science and technology museum with their families. The children watched a 20-second video comparing two devices: Amazon’s Alexa, a voice-activated assistant, and a Roomba robot vacuum cleaner that can respond to voice commands. After the video, the kids completed a brief questionnaire to capture their impressions.
Across the board, the children described both Alexa and Roomba as capable of playful or ticklish reactions and noted that neither would feel pain from pinching, since they lack a human body or conscious sensation. The youngsters, however, perceived Alexa as more intelligent than Roomba and believed Alexa could experience emotions and even take offense.
One researcher summarized the takeaway: even without bodies, toddlers and young children often attribute emotions and a mind to Alexa. This tendency to anthropomorphize digital assistants appears to be stronger for Alexa, which is designed for conversational interaction and complex tasks.
Despite these differences in perceived emotion and intelligence, the children consistently judged both devices as deserving humane treatment. They advocated respectful interaction, even when directing commands or questions at the machines. Interestingly, as the children grew older, some participants reported that verbal expressions directed at the robots became more common or accepted, reflecting a shift in social norms around human-robot communication.