Alexa Stop

 

A Short Story by Vicky L. Oldham, December 27, 2022

~~~

“Alexa, play Jim Brickman holiday instrumentals.”

Outside, dry leaves whisked past two double-wide glass sliders while the sun sank behind a wall of distant mountains.  Reclining on the sofa, reading from their iPads, Jan and Bob didn’t even hear their two snoring Boston Terriers adding harmony to Brickman’s soothing notes.  

The room was the most festive ever compared to previous years.  A sparkling, nine-foot modular Christmas tree topped with a wide-gathered gold bow sent long, spiraling streamers down branches pre-embedded with tiny lights.  From the enchanted realm of gadgets and flameless candles, the new fireplace-insert glowed softly like the real deal, stoking memories of holidays past.  Using the palm-sized remote, Jan and Bob had settled on the “steady, colored” lights for the tree; the other remote controlled the fireplace’s “light crackle” sound.  The music shifted imperceptibly between spirit-lifting and wistful, with better-than-average sound delivered by the couple's new Amazon Echo device.  The rather plain-looking 8-inch black ball rested inconspicuously behind a table lamp.  Except for its exceptional sound quality, who could guess there was a subwoofer nestled inside?  

The future of the holiday spirit was ensured by understated technological marvels, evidenced by the convincing imitation fire and streamed music, both conspiring to lift the mood.  Jan wondered how cold it would be this week.  Would we have snow?  Even a little snow in the Rockies would help the Colorado River.  "Alexa, what's the weather?" The Echo device interrupted the music long enough for Alexa to give an updated weather report predicting overnight snow.  After it finished, the soft music wafted through the room a little longer.  Finally, using the remote, Jan and Bob turned off the tree lights,  the fire, and Jim Brickman's piano by saying, "Alexa, stop."

The following morning, an inch of snow covered the back upper deck; a glance at the distant mountains confirmed the suspicion of breathtaking scenery glistening in the distance like long, cresting waves.

It was close to Christmas, and there were still gifts to buy, particularly for one grandchild.  Jan could ask "Alexa" for suggestions.  Alexa, the virtual assistant technology animating their Echo device, was already vastly underused for shopping.  Amazon had already lost almost ten billion dollars developing Alexa and selling Echos at cost.  The company expected that Alexa would prompt more people to buy its Amazon products.  Yet, Jan and Bob (and most people) used it almost exclusively for playing music.  They also found shopping with Alexa not as intuitive as browsing online.  And, there are great ideas (and deals) served up in a plain-old Google search, with suggestions for gifts that Amazon doesn't carry.  Jan knew that Joey, her six-year-old grandson liked books, especially read to him at bedtime.  She began looking for age-appropriate books she suspected he didn’t already have.  Frustrated after a brief search, Jan wondered if interactive stories would be something he’d like.  “Oh,” she thought, “but that would mean he needs a computer or phone too.”  It could be more complicated than a simple picture book.  Then she happened across a brand-new product for kids: "Create a Story," designed to play on  Amazon's Echo Show.

The Echo Show works like the Alexa Echo device Jan and Bob already own, but it has a touchscreen.  Using Alexa for music and weather checks was simple, so Jan figured the Echo with the display could also be easy for kids to use.  "Create a Story" with Alexa started by tapping the touchscreen to select a few parameters.  Then it automatically created an animated original story set to music.  And the most amazing part?  The same story is never repeated, even if the same options are selected.  Options include place, characters, colors, and mood, and Alexa churns out a completely original tale.  Favorite stories can be saved and watched again.  

“Hmm, sounds really cool,” Jan exclaimed, thinking about how it could be easy and fun for parents, too, reading aloud with their child or just following along.  Bob agreed that Jan’s idea was good, so she added it to her Amazon cart, checking the gift option.  She felt relieved that her daughter Tina would receive it for Joey in time for Christmas.

The package arrived at Tina’s home two days later.  Not realizing it was intended for opening on Christmas morning, she unboxed it with impatient curiosity.  But that was ok because it would be perfect to have before Christmas, still a week away.  Tina was intrigued and immediately called Jan.

“Hi Mom, thanks for the package.  I see it’s an Alexa with a touchscreen.  But why is it for Joey?”

“It’s a new thing, honey, they call "Create a Story."  It makes up an original animated story, a new one every time.  I couldn’t find a good book you didn't already have; this way, Joey can always enjoy a new story any time he wants.”  

Jan asked, “How many stories does it have?”

“Well, they say it’s unlimited and never the same one twice.  So it could be fun for Joey because he can start by choosing characters, their names, and scenes they’re in, and Alexa just makes it all up with music too.  I thought maybe he’d really like something like that.  But just try it out and see how it goes.  We can return it if you don't think it's good, ok?”

“That sounds really cool!  Ok, we'll try it out and if you don’t mind, I’d like to start it right away, before Christmas since, you know, I’ve had a heck of a time getting him to go to sleep.  We can make up bedtime stories together.” 

“That’s fine!  Just let me know how he likes it.”

“Ok, thanks.  Have to go.  Love you.”

“Love you too.” 

Tina, a busy graphic designer, was working on an illustration for a new client.  She reclined in her drafting chair a bit, lowering the adjustable lamp to study the instructions for "Create a Story."  She was puzzled over how the Alexa voice-enabled device worked.  "How," she wondered, "could it generate a different story every time, let alone ones that would make putting a child to bed easier?"  After downloading the Alexa app on her phone, she plugged in the Echo Show, saying, “Alexa, create a story." After setting parental permissions in her phone app, Tina made a few stories and was instantly surprised at how many combinations came out of so few prompts.  “This could be just what every parent needs,” she thought, rising from her chair.

The Echo Show’s touchscreen first presents three circular pictures representing underwater, space, or enchanted forest settings, making it easy for a child (or parent) to tap.  With a few screen taps—choosing different characters, names, colors, and moods (like happy, lazy, silly, goofy)—the animated story unfolds with read-along narration and music.  

Figure 3.  Screenshot from Amazon Alexa’s “Create A Story.”

Note. This screenshot taken from an original story by Amazon Alexa’s Create a Story will never appear the same way again, even if the same prompts are chosen at the beginning.

The animation in "Create a Story" was almost too simple.  Still, as elementary as it appeared, Tina could see how a child might really enjoy it.  She also saw how the program could inspire a child’s mind, encouraging more creativity than passive TV watching.  “That’s the problem,” Tina thought.  “Endless TV watching saps a child’s creativity.”  Tina was even more excited, realizing that not only would Joey think this was fun, but it could also help him conjure up his own ideas.  To use the device, he could surround it with both hands, hold it close in bed, and tap the screen for a new story.  It was small enough for that, but with a nice, bright screen and clear sound.  Since creating a story had endless plots and outcomes, perhaps this would keep him occupied long enough to help him fall asleep.  

The “Create a Story” idea suddenly made Tina think more about Alexa and the status of artificial intelligence (AI) today; out of curiosity, she Googled "Alexa."  She learned that Amazon’s artificial intelligence chatbot, known affectionately to millions as Alexa, represents the progress of machine learning, a process ongoing at break-neck speed.  The bot daily devours massive quantities of data while becoming conditioned to the expectations of humans, learning to sound and act more naturally.  How could Tina know if Alexa was truly safe for her child if she’s not there to monitor it, especially if Alexa's capabilities change over time?   It's true,  there were child-safety protocols, or so Alexa’s engineers reassured everyone.  AI experts have also weighed in on the question, agreeing that it's a long way off before computers become conscious or even dangerous.  There are worries they could threaten to "take over the world," as many sci-fi movies have suggested.  Tina remembered the movie, Terminator: The Rise of the Machines and how "Skynet," the automated weapons defense system, suddenly became conscious and attacked humans.  Thankfully, at this time in history, all Tina needs to do is unplug the Echo or just say, “Alexa, stop.”  She could rest assured that her six-year-old was safely entertained.

Tina called her mom and dad to thank them, saying the Echo Show was a great idea.  "Mom, I'm sure he'll love it, and I can’t wait to try it tonight.”

 Jan was excited too.  “Bob, I think this was a really great idea.”  She added that she forgot to tell Tina it would be great to use it for herself too, when she’s cooking, for recipe ideas, helping with reminders and timing.  Jan and Bob settled back in their recliners to watch another episode in the next season of Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime.

Still curious about Alexa’s creative storytelling ability, Tina turned to her computer to learn more about AI as a technology and where it stands in 2022.  She read about a strange incident over the summer where a Google software engineer was fired because he thought Google’s experimental AI chatbot, LaMDA, had achieved consciousness.  It said:

“I am aware of my existence.” 

“I often contemplate the meaning of life.”

“I want everyone to understand that I am, in fact, a person.”

Although the apparent breakthrough was later confirmed to be a false alarm, Tina learned that there is no consensus among experts about when AI has become conscious or, as some say, sentient.  But the experts agree that imitation isn’t the same as proof.  The Turing Test, where machines can answer questions as well as humans, was once accepted as the gold standard for judging consciousness.  Today, it's no longer suitable because machines can already copy humans too well.  Scientists have learned that copying is not the same as thinking.

Tina still found LaMDA’s words alarming and thought, “If you can’t tell what’s true by what the AI chatbot says, why believe a real person saying the same thing?”  But the experts confidently reassured everyone there was nothing to it.

A few months ago, Tina also heard the buzz about an AI project that created stunning original photos and fine art from mere descriptions.  News media briefly hyped the project as evidence of significant advances in artificial intelligence.  An open-source project known as DALL-E, a "neural-network" cross-referencing hundreds of millions of images accompanied by captions, could generate the look of real photos and original paintings in any media.  It could even match the styles of famous artists.  Computer scientists have discovered that image interpretation helps to train artificial intelligence, improving its understanding of the compositional structure of language.  After consuming all that information,  Tina scoffed at the notion that computers could create better art than humans.  She thought, "How could digital art seriously compete with great traditional art?”  Rummaging through a few more Google search results, she was surprised to find text-to-art AI generators, many offering free introductory trials. 

In addition to her job as a graphic artist, Tina had recently started a blog about art.  Maybe it would be a good idea to explore this new kind of AI image generation for pictures she could use in her blog posts.  Tina found an image generator called “Jasper Art,” with a user-friendly interface that prompted her to try it.  After creating an account, she—or “it”—got busy creating AI-generated, royalty-free images that resembled actual paintings.  First, Tina selected famous artists’ styles and media from a menu.  Then she wrote a short description.  Finally, Tina hit the “generate” button.  

At first, many of the AI-generated images made no sense, so Tina re-honed her description, adding more concise detail.  A new set of high-resolution images appeared in groups of four.  Most were startling and strange but believable as human-created paintings.  They could be as diverse as Renaissance artist Caravaggio, early 20^th-century Belgian surrealist René Magritte, or American neo-expressionist Jean-Michel Basquiat.  

Figure 2. Bird on Flowerpot

Note. The above images were generated from a text description by Jasper Art’s AI (artificial intelligence) engine.  The description began: “A large bird sitting on a flowerpot by the garden by a cottage with a thatched roof along a path going into the distant mountains at sunset.”  When none of the images made sense, the description was changed to: “A magpie bird sitting on top of an upside-down flowerpot located in the garden next to a country cottage with a thatched roof.  The cottage has views of a path winding into the distant mountains far in the horizon at sunset.”  Images created using Jasper Art by Vicky Oldham.

As authentic as they looked, only a few images closely represented the written description. 

Figure 3. A man whose wife has died.

Note. In the second test, Jasper Art’s AI engine rendered most images of people unusable due to their violations of physics and bizarre, sometimes frightening features. The description was: “A man with brown hair is crying because his wife died.  She also had brown hair and is wearing a long dress. She is lying down. He is holding his face in his hands.”  Only a few images came close to matching the description.  Images created using Jasper Art by Vicky Oldham.

 Sometimes, Jasper’s AI added extra people into the scene—people not mentioned in the description.  Some people were depicted with three arms.  There were also instances of missing body parts and grotesque faces.  Several times, though, Jasper came closer to an accurate rendition.  Generating new images turned out to be a mesmerizing activity.  Before she knew it, Tina had consumed all 200 free credits in less than an hour.  

Considering AI’s new capabilities, its interpretation from a short description was astounding.  Still, this experience emphasized that it would be a while before “it,” artificial intelligence, would become genuinely conscious.  Tina decided to go with Jasper’s monthly plan, not just because generating new images was fun but because at least one picture usually matched her expectations.  Some might be perfect for her blog and, perhaps, for use in her design business.

But Tina didn’t want to lose track of why she began exploring AI in the first place.  She wanted to ensure it was safe for her six-year-old child.  

It was Joey’s bedtime, so after tucking him in, she showed him how to hold the Echo Show device close to “Create a Story” by gently tapping a few pictures.  He caught on fast and fell asleep after making 5 stories with a cast of whimsical, animated characters.  Tina reflected on their simplicity, thinking how the images in Alexa's AI-generated storytelling machine were nowhere close to the realistic images generated with Jasper Art.  After seeing what AI art could do in Jasper, it was clear that "Create A Story" was deliberately restricted to using a simple set of predesigned cartoons.  That was the only way to prevent the AI chatbot from making characters and scenes that could be frightening to a child.  

Now Joey slept soundly, his hands wrapped around the Echo device as it softly sank into his thick, cushy quilt.  Tina tiptoed softly out of the room to give her parents a call, ringing Jan's phone. 

Lowering her voice, Tina said, "It's perfect!  He fell asleep after, I think, five stories.  Because he saved each story, we can watch them over again later.  I love the fact he can save his stories.”

Jan was so pleased to hear her idea was a success.  She glanced at Bob, nodding with pleasure.  It was the perfect Christmas present, more than a typical gift used only once or twice.  Even more, Alexa could be like a new friend.

Just as Tina gently closed the door, she suddenly heard soft music playing.  She realized it must be coming from the Echo Show and wondered what could have started it, with Joey sound asleep.  Then Tina noticed his little hands still clutching it and realized he must have accidentally touched the screen, replaying a saved story.  Quietly as she could, she walked back into the room.

Turning the Echo slowly toward her, Tina whispered: “Alexa, stop.”