For those nights when the kids are sick of hearing the same bedtime stories, but you’re too tired to make up your own, Amazon has introduced “Create with Alexa.”
Currently available only on Echo Show smart displays, the feature uses conversational and generative artificial intelligence to turn story dreams into animated reality.
Say the phrase, “Alexa, make a story,” follow on-screen prompts about character, setting, and other variables, then sit back as the virtual assistant generates a “unique and original narrative” based on your child’s preferences. The AI also composes illustrations, background music, and sound effects.
It’s up to you whether the narrative takes place in space, where astronaut Speedy meets Fuzzy the alien, or follows an underwater mystery involving a mermaid. Using your input, Alexa’s five- to 10-line tale unfolds across five unique scenes that, even if the child chooses the same prompts again, is different each time. Users can save stories to a personal media gallery to watch later, and, soon, share with family and friends.
(Credit: Amazon)
“We’ve always envisioned Alexa to be a trusted companion that brings joy and fun to the family,” Eshan Bhatnagar, head of product for Alexa AI, said in a statement(Opens in a new window). “And we created this experience to further that vision.”
Built with families in mind, Create with Alexa features multiple guardrails, like content filtering and curated prompts. All text is generated by a language model trained to build a cohesive story from just a few key inputs. And, as with any child-directed Alexa feature, it requires verifiable parental consent before being enabled on a device.
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This is just the beginning for Amazon’s child-friendly feature. “Kids will want to be able to say, ‘I want to see a wall of chocolate,’ and soon we expect we’ll be able to do that,” according to Nico Bishop, a UX designer working on Create with Alexa.
The function is available in the US now on supported Echo devices, with a variety of free templates.
Amazon Echo Show 10 (3rd Generation) Preview
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