“Man is the only animal nature has endowed with the gift of speech.”
Aristotle, Politics
It is estimated that almost a quarter of American homes have a voice-enabled ‘smart speaker,’ and experts predict that over half of households will within a few years. The lion’s share of these devices are Amazon’s Alexa.
A closer consideration of this situation could render the expert prediction wrong. We can still choose a better way.
There are at least three reasons not to talk to Alexa, or anything like it.
1. It cheapens conversation.
Speech and conversation are at the center of human life. How we speak indicates and embodies our disposition toward those to whom we speak. If young children are instructed not to speak to certain people, this is because to engage in speech already establishes a real connection, one with consequences.
“People talk to Alexa every day. And while it’s been love since the first conversation, what people really love is Alexa.” So chortles the online video “What is Alexa? An Introduction to Amazon’s Voice Service.” While this assertion might point more to Amazon’s goal than it does to current reality, the fact is that people are speaking to Alexa every day, and such conversations have real consequences in our own perceptions and affections.
2. It perverts the meaning of words–such as especially the all-important personal pronouns. The use of Alexa almost inevitably leads to referring to it as “she” and “her.”
“More than the voice of Echo, she is the brain behind millions of Alexa-enabled devices, understanding and replying to questions in seconds,” explains the Amazon video.
Let’s be clear: Alexa understands nothing. It (not she) is essentially different from a brain—even from the brain of a possum. But we find ourselves falling into usages such as the Amazon video’s; and word usage has consequences—it always does.
3. It blurs the distinction of human and non-human, and replaces the former with the latter. In our age we are consistently encouraged, indeed shoved, toward replacing the human with the non-human. Machines have replaced the work of human hands for some time—a supposedly obvious improvement of human life. How many human hands find themselves limp and unengaged as a result.
Now comes the (un)natural next step: replacing speech and thought with the digital device. How many human persons will find their own intellects growing limp and unengaged. How many will suffer from a gradual replacement of the most human of interactions: real conversation.
I do not question the many uses and convenience of this technology. Its appeal is obvious. But we must recognize that the use of some technologies carries with it real implications for human life. Often overlooked is the significant collateral damage that might just outweigh the advantages.
A technology that induces us, or even seduces us, to treat the non-human as though it is human blurs one of the most basic of distinctions. The trajectory in these matters is always toward more. And there are sleek, powerful forces at work in their advancement.
“And while she’s great at weather updates and playing music, that’s just the beginning. Alexa has infinite abilities…” No. If anything in this world has unlimited abilities it is the human soul. But when we forget ourselves, our own works can have almost limitless power to ruin good things.
We might think, understandably enough, that just one more technology can’t hurt too much. But where are we going to draw a line? When will be make a hard stand, even if a painful one, in defense of the human?
“Where she goes next or what she’ll say is up to you.” Here the Amazon video couldn’t be more right. We can remind ourselves that we are human—and that our birthright is rationality and free will. We can still use these to just say no to Alexa in our homes. And then it will go away.
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
Thank you for this. I wondered if you happened to see this article as well? Seems the great minds are addressing the same topics lately: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/01/08/smartphones-paving-way-antichrist-says-russian-church-leader/
Thanks Angela. I haven’t seen this; I’ll check it out.
Thank your for your observations. In addition, one might view the Alexa as one stage in a troubling feedback loop: technology over the past decades had displaced the ubiquity of, and desire for, real intimate human conversation, where both parties in the dialogue listen in empathy to the other. With a dearth of such interaction, a new device appears on the technological landscape, implicitly promising a function of listening, of personalized accommodation and empathy to the customer. Unfortunately, the Alexa is unreal in that respect, and merely pushes the displacement of empathy further under the guise of doing the opposite. Our situation is like being thirsty on a lone boat in the ocean; the Alexa is offered to us as salt water in the guise of a supposedly helpful salve. Woe to us!
Brian–very nicely articulated, complete with excellent example. Thank you!
Thanks for your thoughts on this John. It definitely gives one pause to consider this or any other kind of technology as it seems technology takes away from actual interaction with others especially our families. I am about to enter into the Exodus 90 program of which a part is the giving up of our technological devices including television. Maybe you would like to join us. Anyway thank you for the excellent post.
Thank you, Rick, and may Exodus 90 be fruitful for you in many ways.
Amen.
There was never the faintest chance in the world that I would allow such a thing in my home, but it’s strengthening to hear the case stated so plainly and well.
I don’t know how much of a chance there is of this invasive strangling weed going away soon. I thought the same about television screens in restaurants or barber shops, and they are now much, much worse than ever they’ve been. However, when I politely ask my barber to silence the barking cyclops, he’s generally happy to do it, sometimes even relieved, so I’m becoming inclined to start asking in other places. My sister has allowed an Amazon spore into her home, and on our next visit I think I will quietly and courteously ask her if we can turn it off (I assume it has an off switch) while we’re visiting.
Who would have thought that Americans would eagerly spend their own hard-earned money buying “telescreens” right out of Orwell’s great novel _1984_?
It can indeed be instructive to examine more closely some of the futuristic books of the past–also including Fahrenheit 451, comparing them with what have become realities.
Thank you Dr. Cuddeback,
We do have an Alexa in our home – it was a gift a year ago given to several family members at the same time. I will say we don’t have “conversations” with Alexa. We actually turn Alexa off until we have a question or want to listen to music, so in that way use it as a tool rather than anything else. At this stage it is clear that “Alexa” does not “understand” even in a most basic way – it gets a majority of the nuances of the questions we are asking incorrect. We have been considering in an ongoing way whether we want to continue to use Alexa and what value it brings, so I very much appreciate your post.
One concern we have had is that the inevitable tracking of our questions as well as potential filtering of content based on algorithms has grave potential for not only abuse, but also decreased exposure to the “inexhaustible variety of life” (Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby) at a time when finding solutions will require increased interaction with ideas that make us uncomfortable in order to engage in educated and civil conversation. For this reason we do not utilize Alexa as a main source for news reports for example.
I will say something else, more subtle, which has had me reconsidering. When we ask a question of Alexa it is done abruptly and as a command – “Alexa, tell me the weather” for example. There is no please, no room for thank you and no conversation. My concern is that habitually speaking this way, even to a machine, has the potential to alter our habits of speech in other venues, and thus has the potential to dehumanize and remove nuance, connection, and civility from our patterns.
Thank you for these several points. I must say the last does particularly strike me. All speech should be civil, even if in a more intense or adversarial situation. Speaking to an electronic device removes the way in which the hearer demands appropriate treatment. Even the limited speech we make toward a dog should be properly modulated to the dog. But the Echo device offers no such modulating reception, as it were.
Artificial intelligence is a wave, really a tsunami, that is about to wash over society and wipe out life as we know it. It will take some special efforts to remain human and to act in human ways..it will be easier to go with the flow so most people will. But there will always be a remnant that resists.
It will indeed take special efforts. I tend to think of it as making an effort to keep a beacon burning–though it certainly will take resistance too.
Thank you Dr. Cuddeback for this insightful video. It is really sad that what people call ‘progress’ is selling our souls, our free will, and our imagination to artificial intelligence. It seems that with all this technology (smart phones and Alexa) people are becoming less human and more like a robot; so many people in this day and age lack human emotion, compassion, or love and are content with being like everyone else instead of being different and standing out in the crowd.
Thomas–Thanks for the comment. A willingness to be different is often a necessary thing; and then at the same time we naturally desire to fit in with others. An ongoing effort to raise the public conversation on these matters is in order.
Thank you, Dr. Cuddeback, for your words on this crucial topic.
It would be really helpful if you took the audio from these video segments and uploaded them as podcasts. I know many people such as myself who listen to podcasts while driving or just at home. Something to consider as this site grows and grows. Thanks again!
Thank you, John. I’ll get on that, and I hope to be able to oblige you soon.
Thank you for this thought provoking post. Definitely worth sharing and discussing.
Thanks, Janice. Socrates never tired of discussing key issues in the good life. We can do our best too…
Thank you, Professor Cuddeback! You have enabled me to challenge the use of Alexa in my own family.
Thank you, Teresa. Always in charity, we can keep trying our best to work together on these things.
Timely, thought-provoking post and a series of substantive responses. How rare and refreshing! E.F. Schumacher popularized Gandhi’s distinction between a tool and a machine. The former allows a human being to human work more easily; the latter does the human work all by itself. And as you point out, if there ever was work that is essentially and exclusively human, it is conversation. Perhaps we will learn to use Alexa only as tool and continue to look to one another for genuine communication. But then again, perhaps Alexa will intensify present trends, and human beings will increasingly see themselves through a machine-like lens–as producers, consumers, and human resources, In retrospect, the much-maligned Luddites seem prescient.
Newton, Thank you very much for reminding us of that distinction between a tool and a machine–such an important distinction. It can really help us think more clearly about various technologies in our life. I’m going to be thinking more about it…
Nice article Dr. C! My wife and I enjoyed having Alexa read it to us last night. Kidding.
It strengthens me in my New Year’s resolutions to rid myself and family of the unnecessary technology throughout my life.
I join you, Joseph, in that self-examination.
This ‘thing’ is intrusive. It is a spy in our homes. My son in law who is an IT engineer is leery of them. The information it/she collects is not transient… just think what she overhears in our homes, and not only the shopping lists we whisper into her flashing ears !
John,
Thank you for the great video, and for the “fleshing out” it provides of your earlier thoughts on the matter.
I can’t help but return to your emphasis on the use of pronouns: if the past few years have shown us anything, it’s that words do indeed have meaning. The application of PERSONAL pronouns to inanimate objects seems to me to be nothing more than the continued application of the belief that gender and its corresponding pronouns themselves are interchangeable and arbitrary among mankind.
Your piece here also reminds me of how men have referred to inanimate objects with pronouns for ages. Stories often tell of warriors referring to their weapons as feminine, and boats or vessels fondly referred to as “old girl,” or even being named, by the sailors aboard. But in those instances, there is a simplicity that seems to be missing from interactions with Alexa. The men talk AT or about their weapons or boats, the way one might stare at a wall, expecting no return glance; they don’t converse with them.
It seems to me do be yet another example of modernity’s penchant for perverting and destroying even the oldest and simplest of fashions.
Keep fighting the good fight. All our best to you and your lovely family.
Josh, I really appreciate this comment. I was thinking myself about the issue you raise: the use of feminine pronouns for ships and other such things. I think you hit the nail on the head: to speak about such things that we have crafted, or that we man, or that we steward: such speech reasonably calls for a personal pronoun. Why? As you note, we are not purporting to have a conversation with these things. We are peaking, it seems, with a certain reverence, but we are not artificially raising these objects to a pseudo-human level.
Thanks for sharing these thoughts, and we send all our best to you and your growing family.
Funny video about Alexa: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9JvAzIPwoo
When Alexa is giving wrong answers….;)
Thank you for your thoughts!
Alexa can be a great help to the elderly who want to live on their independently but have physical limitations. I purchased an echo for my 84 year old mother who is going blind. She can now wake up at 4 am and tell Alexa she wants to say the Rosary with Mother Angelica. As with any AI, the key is to use it as a tool not a source of companionship.
Susan, I certainly appreciate your point: I agree that truly good things can come from such technology. This makes for a very difficult discernment. Once we allow those situations to be the doorway of these technologies into the inner recesses of our home, it is very difficult to keep from using them for more and more aspects of life. In my experience, this very easily leads to a net loss. I do not want to be callous to a situation like your mother’s, and I grant that Alexa could be the right answer in that situation. I still think that all in all, that technology should be rejected from our homes. You note the importance of not letting it become a source of companionship. I agree, and I would go further. As I argue in my post, there are also other things at stake. Alexa is part of a broader movement toward replacing the human with the non-human. Companionship is only part of that. When we accustom ourselves to speaking to machines and turning to machines for more and more normal daily things, I think we undermine our connections with people at various levels. Again, I thank you for your comment. May we all work together in continuing to think about these challenging issues, and may we all understand that people will come up with different answers.
Hi, this is the worst thing I have ever read. Thanks <3