GMB viewers blast expert advice to say ‘PLEASE’ to Alexa so children learn good manners – but some insist there’s ‘nothing wrong’ with being polite
- Neuro-psychologist said children need to develop the ‘social use of language’
- Mariella Frostrup and Jemma Forte appeared to debate issue on today’s show
- Frostrup thought there was ‘no harm’ in being polite while Forte disagreed
- GMB viewers clashed over the issue and were quick to share their views online
Good Morning Britain viewers were left divided over whether parents should be ‘polite’ to smart gadgets to teach children good manners.
Presenters Mariella Frostrup and Jemma Forte appeared on today’s show to debate the issue after US neuro-psychologist Dr Laura Phillips urged parents to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to Amazon’s voice-controlled assistant Alexa so that their children learned to be polite.
A number of viewers backed Jemma, 46, of London, who said she felt it was important to create a distinction between machines and ‘sentient beings’.
However others sided with Mariella, 56, who claimed there is ‘no harm’ in being polite to our machines to teach good manners.
Mariella Frostrup (left) and Jemma Forte appeared on Good Morning Britain today to discuss whether we should be polite to our gadgets
The issue left viewers divided, with some branding it ‘dumb’, while others argued there is ‘no harm’ in being polite
Presenter Jemma said: ‘Manners are so important but I think it’s more important to make sure your children can tell the difference between a machine and a sentient being.’
‘They’re based on software and algorithms – the robots are coming at the moment we’re in control, they’re command operated and you run the risk of changing the algorithm.
Mariella argued: ‘There’s no harm in teaching manners. In general [it would be good] for everyone to learn to calm it down and employ manners.
‘It’s not a bad thing and if robot are going to take over the world than it’s an investment isn’t it?’
Some viewers felt manners are always necessary and said there’s ‘nothing wrong’ with being polite to gadgets
Some viewers felt manners are always necessary, with one commenting: ‘I agree with @mariellaf1 on @gmb_officialthere is nothing wrong with adopting better manners in the world’.
Another said: ‘Should we be polite to gadgets?’ My granddaughter is nearly 2……she says ‘tank you bery much’ to Alexa because me and her Mummy do too (because we model behaviour). We’re teaching her good manners.’
A third argued: ‘Don’t really understand this discussion on@GMBat the moment. I ALWAYS say please and thank you to any Alexa gadget. Much to the amusement of my offspring!’
Journalist Mariella, 56, Somerset claims there’s ‘no harm’ in being polite to our machines and feels it teachers good manners
Presenter Jemma, 46, London felt it was important to create a distinction between machines and ‘sentient beings’
However some viewers felt that teaching children to be polite to machines would lead to them not being genuine, and they should know ‘why they’re being polite’
However some viewers felt that teaching children to be polite to machines would lead to them not being genuine, and they should know ‘why they’re being polite’.
The user said: ‘I don’t think you should be polite to machines. Like the lady said, manners have reason behind them so teaching people to say please and thank you for the sake of it is degrading the meaning of the words.
‘Children should know WHY they are being polite, not just for sake of it.’
Another fumed: ‘Is this really a conversation on #gmb should we be polite to gadgets? They are gadgets they don’t have feelings.’
A third asked: ‘Be polite to gadgets? Are you having a laugh?’
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