I heard about a product called the Amazon Alexa. I wanted to learn more, went to Amazon, and found this fabulous thread about two electronic devices, the Alexa and the Echo.
“Question: I have 2 children, one named Alexa and the other named Amazon. Will this present any problems?
A: My kids do not respond to voice commands, do yours?!? I am selling my kids on eBay and buying the Echo.
tomh
A: My daughter Siri loves it..
ACChapa
A: I was in the same boat. After much debate with the husband, we decided to adopt our children out to family members. We could not be more pleased with our decision. This product has literally changed our lives.
Tami
A: Don’t worry about it. Your children do not have voice command recognition features, so only the Echo will respond accordingly. I’m not sure if they have the voice command upgrade for children yet. I heard it’s still buggy and only works when you pay it. see less
Lionel C.
A: No. It will only matter if you name your third child Echo.
Ben’jammin
A: This isn’t really a problem because as a parent, you usually just go through the entire list of available names before getting to the right one anyway. They’re probably all in trouble, so it’s not really an issue.
PSW
A: You will finally get an answer when you call their name.
Bryan F.
A: Just replace your children with the echos will cost you less in the long run.
John
A: No, in the Alexa app you can choose a wake-word with the choices being “Alexa”, “Amazon”, and “Echo”.
Seth Hollander
A: Yes, but you can always just donate your old items. Goodwill takes children now, just make sure to use their convenient “after hours” drop off. Huge donation deduction for tax purposes but may be offset by not having dependents.
S. Harper
A: While all the answers are funny, the ones I find MOST hilarious are the ones who don’t think this is a joke and are trying to solve your issue. Lol
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I love the drop-off solution. It illustrates perfectly the hazards in so-called machine learning and artificial intelligence and quirky logic of these interactions.
These algorithms are not ready for prime time unless your business is trafficing in absurdity.
A: Just replace your children with the echos will cost you less in the long run.
John
A: No, in the Alexa app you can choose a wake-word with the choices being “Alexa”, “Amazon”, and “Echo”.
Seth Hollander
A: Yes, but you can always just donate your old items. Goodwill takes children now, just make sure to use their convenient “after hours” drop off. Huge donation deduction for tax purposes but may be offset by not having dependents.
S. Harper
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I got a kick out of this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfCfTYZJWtI
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A: If any confusion results from purchasing this product just ask, “Alexa, what is the surface area of a cone with a base radius of 5 centimeters and a height of 13.5 centimeters?” Who or what answers first, that is your child.
A: The resulting competition between them for your attention, having multiple Alexas and Amazons in the room, will be good for them. It will give them grit.
A: No. Amazon collects so much data about your family that Alexa will be able to take the place of your real children, no problem.
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Oh, one should read about Haribo sugar free gummy bears. Hilarious.
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This was a funny thread of comments, Diane! But guess who’s really laughing? https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/07/07/the-destructive-power-trips-of-amazons-b
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That’s a good one. Thanks.
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Diane,
You are a riot! Thank you for all you do.
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