Google Assistant, a well-known virtual assistant program, has recently introduced new features that aim to streamline parental controls, add child-friendly voices, and include a kids' dictionary.
According to a recent blog post from Google's software application, the newly added features will help children have safer, age-appropriate conversations with parents and the Google Assistant application.
Google Assistant Is Now Kid-Friendly
As home technologies such as voice assistants become more advanced, some households have already decided to begin developing their families' relationships with technology. According to data forecasts from Statista, approximately 4.2 billion digital voice assistants will be in use worldwide between 2019 and 2024. Millions or even billions of families, including children, depend on virtual programs.
Young children's minds are still developing, which is why they frequently ask many questions. Kids piece together information by asking specific questions to expand their understanding and make sense of their surroundings. In the presence of technologies such as Google Assistant, these children are left to ask these droids their curious questions.
This is primarily why Google Assistant developers created a set of parental controls for the program to ensure that children are exposed to content appropriate for their age and that their access to specific apps is limited.
These features give parents more control over how their kids interact with Google speakers and smart displays. The Google Home, Family Link, and Google Assistant apps on Android and iOS now allow parents to change media preferences, enable or disable specific Assistant features, and schedule downtime for children.
Parents can now just say "Hey Google, open Assistant settings," and they can already navigate various parental controls. In the upcoming weeks, these features will be added to the aforementioned applications.
Kids Dictionary and Child-friendly Voices
According to Wired, making Google Assistant more kid-friendly entails more than imposing restrictions; Google has also created four new "kid-friendly voices" to add some variety to its voice assistant.
Google Assistant now includes kid-friendly voices for more immersive interactions. This feature includes a variety of accents to represent various communities and ways of speaking. It can also speak more slowly and expressively to assist children with storytelling and comprehension.
Kids can simply ask Google to change its voice by saying, "Hey Google, change your voice!" Parents can also assist their children in accessing the Assistant settings, where they can choose a different voice from the available options.
Kids naturally have a lot of questions, as was already mentioned. For this reason, Google Assistant is introducing a Kids Dictionary that provides simplified and age-appropriate responses on speakers, smart displays, and mobile devices.
According to Google Assistant Vice President Sissie Hsiao, using Kids Dictionary makes it possible for kids to interact with Assistant in a way that is both educational and entertaining, allowing them to explore new interests and pick up new skills.
"It's true that children need rich context and cues to learn and develop a vocabulary which at present, they can't get through interactions with technology because it only provides very minimal information and tools and context," Dr. Caroline Fitzpatrick of the Canada Research in Digital Media Use by Children said.
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