Know-it-alls: About 25 million voice assistants for children expected to sell this year

Kids adore their new robot siblings.

As millions of American families buy robotic voice assistants to turn off lights, order pizzas and fetch movie times, children eagerly are co-opting the gadgets to settle dinner table disputes, answer homework questions and entertain friends at sleepover parties.

Many parents have been startled and intrigued by the way these disembodied, know-it-all voices - Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, Microsoft's Cortana - are affecting their children's behavior, making them more curious but also, at times, far less polite.

In just two years, the promise of the technology already has exceeded the marketing come-ons. The disabled are using voice assistants to control their homes, order groceries and listen to books. Caregivers to the elderly say the devices help with dementia, reminding users what day it is or when to take medicine.

For children, the potential for transformative interactions are just as dramatic - at home and in classrooms. But psychologists, technologists and linguists are only beginning to ponder the possible perils of surrounding children with artificial intelligence, particularly as they traverse important stages of social and language development.

With an estimated 25 million voice assistants expected to sell this year at $40 to $180 - up from 1.7 million in 2015 - there are even ramifications for the diaper crowd.

Toy giant Mattel recently announced the birth of Aristotle, a home baby monitor launching this summer that 'comforts, teaches and entertains” using AI from Microsoft. As children get older, they can ask or answer questions. The company says, 'Aristotle was specifically designed to grow up with a child.”

Boosters of the technology say children typically learn to acquire information using the prevailing technology of the moment - from the library card catalog, to Google, to brief conversations with friendly, all-knowing voices. But what if these gadgets lead children, whose faces are already glued to screens, further away from situations where they learn important interpersonal skills?

Amazon did not return a request for comment. A spokeswoman for the Partnership for AI, a new organization that includes Google, Amazon, Microsoft and other companies working on voice assistants, said no one was available to answer questions.

Children certainly enjoy their company, referring to Alexa like just another family member.

'We like to ask her a lot of really random things,” said Emerson Labovich, a fifth-grader in Bethesda, Md., who pesters Alexa with her older brother Asher.

This winter, Emerson asked her almost every day help counting down the days until a trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Florida.

'She can also rap and rhyme,” Emerson said.