“Alexa, What is That Sound?” A Video Analysis of Child-Agent Communication From Two Amazon Alexa Games
Yao Du, Kerri Zhang, Sruthi Ramabadran, Yusa Liu
Abstract
The rapid adoption of smart home speakers into households has enabled young children to verbally communicate with voice assistants (VAs). VAs, such as Amazon Alexa, allow children to use their voice to play various game-based activities and offer opportunities to understand children's communication during child-agent communication. This qualitative study describes findings from video analysis of young children between three and six years old who engaged in voice-based gameplay with two commercial Alexa Skills, Animal Sounds and Animal Game. We report findings about verbal behaviors and communication breakdowns and repairs between children and Alexa, and discuss key considerations for designing voice games for children.