Alexa Coalition: An Introduction
Alexa Coalition, an advocacy group, believes the education sector must ensure best practices in voice technology in education through the implementation of a policy requiring the use of non-human names as wake words when utilizing voice assistants. Integrating voice assistants as a teaching tool in classrooms maintains potential but not at the cost of marginalizing and dehumanizing students.
We advocate for those whose identities have been marginalized through the dominance of voice assistants. (e.g. Alexa) To this end, we seek to encourage broad and transparent debate concerning education, corporate responsibility, AI Ethics and the mitigation of unintended impacts. @AlexaCoalition
Educators & those in educational leadership possess an enormous responsibility ensuring best practices are consistently executed in all domains of the education sector, including voice technology in education. Data-driven decision-making drives continuous improvements on equitable opportunities for all students. Educators play a pivotal role towards creating collaborative, inclusive learning environments.
The advancement of educational technology to include Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its applications across educational platforms highlights the important role policy will play towards guiding the integration of AI in education. Recognizing the benefits but most importantly, the risks, ensures streamlined ethical practices. As a result, it is critical we examine this niche angle as voice technology begins to emerge rapidly from our everyday lives and becomes embedded in the education sector.
Outcomes strongly indicate that using the wake word “Alexa”not only marginalizes a group of children, but negatively impacts education. It is important to note this isn’t a criticism towards educators who use voice assistants as a tool in their classrooms. Rather, this is regarding the risk of allowing the wake word “Alexa” in the education sector and the importance of implementing appropriate wake words in order to protect the future of education.
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Educational Technology (OET) develops national educational technology policies and establishes the vision for how technology can be used to transform teaching and learning and how to make everywhere, all-the-time learning possible for early learners through K-12, higher education, and adult education. The Office of Educational Technology believes “now is the time to begin to understand the implications, support effective use, and prepare policies that address future technologies for teaching and learning.” Office of Ed Tech
As The Office of Educational Technology (OET) continues this instrumental work on the development of policies focused on the “effective, safe and fair use of AI-enable educational technology;” the Alexa Coalition, encourages educators and educational leadership to examine this angle and establish effective practices.
Originally published at https://medium.com on May 14, 2022.
