Just the other day, my one-year-old and I were chilling in the living room and playing with his toys — when out of nowhere he turned towards the TV and said the two magical words “Hey Google” in his own babble way.
While that did leave me in splits and in awe of the way babies pick up on the words we use around them, it also made me think about how my first word, three decades ago, was “book.” It’s wild how much technology has influenced even my baby’s first words.
Times are changing rapidly, and I’m constantly playing catch-up with how quickly AI has infiltrated my toddler’s life, even though he doesn’t fully understand what it means. As someone who’s trying to raise her child without screen time until he goes to school, I totally forgot about the home speakers we’re always talking to and the role they play in our lives.
Google Assistant doubles as a digital nanny
At first, it didn’t bother me as much, but I did some digging and found out that I wasn’t the only one seeking Google’s help. Whether it was to soothe a fussy baby, distract him from something he couldn’t have, or even for an impromptu dance party during lunchtime, Google Assistant had been this invisible presence, getting us through those moments when our hands were literally full.
Both my Sony Bravia OLED TV and Bose soundbar are Google-integrated. Just last week, when our TV remote went missing, we were left to navigate the TV purely by voice commands. So for a week, my life basically revolved around saying things like, “Hey Google, can you play ‘Burning Ghat’ by Rishab Sharma on YouTube” when my toddler wouldn’t stop crying, asking about the weather before a walk, or even adjusting the TV volume to “15%” while juggling a million other things.
So, when he watches me talk to thin air, anytime I say “Hey Google,” he looks at the TV, as if it’s going to answer back (which it does), and is captivated by this invisible person who magically controls things around the house.
Parenting in the age of AI powered Digital assistants
To put things in perspective, many parents unknowingly reach for a digital assistant like Google, Siri, or Alexa due to the sheer convenience of using a simple voice command to summon it. And these AI-powered smart speakers step in to “manage” kids, while parents multitask or have exhausted all their options to try and do the same.
A 2019 study found that more than four in 10 parents (44%) of children aged 2 to 8 reported that their families use a smart speaker more than once a day for activities such as playing music, obtaining information, or simply asking for jokes. While this study was conducted six years ago, the number will likely be much higher today, considering every other appliance in the house is trying to “outsmart” one another, from smart speakers to voice-enabled TVs, and even vacuum cleaners.
While these AI-enabled devices actually help save me from a possible meltdown, I sometimes worry they might intrude on those private bonding moments with my baby, especially when he learns to summon Google himself. However, I don’t think there’s an escape, as big tech companies are making their AI chat assistants sound increasingly human, complete with a distinct personality.
Humanizing AI voices
Big tech companies carefully research and design AI voices to be neutral, calm, and non-threatening. However, that’s taken a step further with some companies trying to tap actors like Scarlett Johansson to use their voice for AI assistants (remember, she was the voice of the AI in the film “Her”).
Google assigned a team to develop a “little more of a personality” for the Assistant, ensuring the voice sounds friendly, approachable, and trustworthy —qualities that are also inherent in human beings. This leads me to my point of how my now one-year-old might perceive this voice in the cloud, talking back to him. Does he see it as a family member, or just a large, rectangular bar that has come to life?
So, we need to teach our kids early on how to distinguish between genuine conversations and superficial chats. Much like Android Central Senior Editor Nick Sutrich’s son, who uses a Google Nest speaker for funny questions and setting timers (which is mostly what the family uses it for, too).
Sutrich tells me, “I do remember we ingrained in him (when they first got the speaker) that Google isn’t smart and it’s not a person. Whatever answers it gives you are not the truth and may often be quite wrong, so it’s fine to ask it a question, but always check with a person before trusting it.”
The way forward
That said, I’m only going to lose if I try to raise my child in an AI-free home, since Google and Amazon have both now launched new AI-powered speakers that already recognize different household voices, understand content, and sync with other devices. And as IDC’s Research Manager, Jitesh Ubrani notes, these devices are not just assistants anymore; they’re actively shaping a new, smarter home.
For parents, this means the real challenge isn’t completely shutting out AI, but rather raising kids who are tech-savvy, yet also understand when to reach out for a human connection rather than relying on a machine for answers to life’s questions. So maybe my son’s “Hey, Google” isn’t a bad thing after all. It is a constant reminder that technology is advancing rapidly, and it’s up to us to ensure our kids can keep pace with it.
