Create Unique Animated Children's Stories with Amazon's Alexa on Echo Show

Amazon Unveils Create with Alexa: A New Era in Interactive Storytelling for Kids

Tools like DALL-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney have dominated social media this year by generating images from simple text. However, Amazon takes a unique approach with its introduction of Create with Alexa, a feature designed for children to craft animated stories through engaging prompts.

How It Works

Create with Alexa supports visual storytelling and is exclusively available on Echo Show devices, not on Amazon’s audio-only speakers. Kids can start their imaginative journey by saying, “Alexa, make a story,” then responding to a series of prompts. The AI develops an illustrated narrative of five to ten lines, complete with animations, sound effects, and music based on their input.

Initially, the feature offers three engaging themes: “space exploration,” “underwater,” and “enchanted forest.” After selecting a theme, children can choose their story's hero, with options like “an astronaut named Speedy” or “an alien named Fuzzy.” They can also customize the story’s color scheme and tone, picking descriptors such as silly, happy, or mysterious. Completed stories can be saved for future enjoyment or shared with family and friends.

Unique and Kid-Friendly Features

Unlike other AI tools that stitch together pre-existing scenes, Amazon assures that each story created with Alexa is unique, ensuring diversity in storytelling even with the same prompts. Amazon's safeguards enhance child safety by utilizing curated data sources and multiple guardrails, including content filtering to guarantee a delightful and secure experience. Importantly, parents must enable the Create with Alexa feature to allow their children to use it.

Launch Amid Industry Changes

Create with Alexa is being launched in a challenging environment for Amazon’s voice assistant technology. Recently, the company confirmed significant layoffs, affecting around 10,000 employees, particularly within its Devices & Services division associated with Echo Show and Alexa. Additionally, Amazon has discontinued Glow, its previous kid-focused video calling device.

Availability

The Create with Alexa feature is now live on Echo Show devices in the United States but is currently available only in English. This innovative storytelling tool aims to inspire creativity and engagement in children, marking a significant step forward in interactive AI technology.