新奇事件簿 亚马逊Alexa奖励有礼貌的孩子

Technology is now helping¹ to teach children to be polite. Amazon will soon start selling a children's version of its virtual assistant Alexa. The new digital assistant will be called "FreeTime". The child-friendly device will include what Amazon calls a "Magic Word" feature. Of course, there are two magic words: "Please," and: "Thank you." The smart software is programmed to encourage children to say "please" and "thank you" when they ask the device questions. An example of this is if a child asks FreeTime: "What is the capital city of Australia?" Alexa will answer and end its response with: "Thank you for asking so nicely." Amazon hopes this will encourage children to copy the device and be more polite.

现在的科技帮助孩子们学会礼貌。亚马逊很快将推出儿童版虚拟助手Alexa。新款数码助手被称为“FreeTime”。这款方便儿童使用的设备将包含亚马逊的“Magic Word”功能。当然，其中有两个魔法词汇：“请”和“谢谢”。该智能软件的程序设定是当孩子们向该设备提问时，鼓励他们说“请”和“谢谢”。例如，如果一个孩子向FreeTime提问：“澳大利亚的首都是哪个城市？”Alexa将回答问题并在结尾回应：“感谢你这么好的提问。”亚马逊希望这能够帮助孩子们模仿设备并变得更有礼貌。

Amazon says the new Magic Word feature is to answer the many customers who said technology was teaching children to be rude. Many smart devices simply give out sentences without using any polite words. Parents said children copy this way of speaking and forget to say "please" or "thank you". Children also got used to asking smart devices questions without being polite. Not everyone is happy with this new technology. Josh Golin, executive director of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, said: "AI devices...interfere² with the face-to-face interactions and child-driven play that children need to grow." He believes parents should spend more time with children and teach them politeness.

亚马逊表示新的Magic Word功能是为了回应那些称科技教孩子变的粗鲁的客户们。许多智能设备只是简单地输出句子而没有使用礼貌用语。家长表示孩子们会模仿设备的这种说话方式，病忘记说“请”或“谢谢”。孩子们也习惯了粗鲁地向智能设备提问。并不是每个人都喜欢这中新科技。无商业化童年运动执行董事，Josh Golin说道：“AI设备...干扰了面对面互动和孩子成长多需的游戏。”他认为家长应该多花时间陪孩子并教他们礼貌。

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。