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Microsoft's Siri-like Cortana service doesn't talk to kids

If you’re 13 years old or younger, Cortana will not talk to you.

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Microsoft Cortana, a voice activated virtual assistant for Windows Phone 8.1 named after Halo’s AI character, will not talk to kids.

Like Apple’s Siri on iPhone, Cortana’s speech recognition allows users to ask it questions and perform specific tasks. Cortana also collects data on users in the process in order to improve the experience over time, meaning it is subject to the US government's Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

COPPA’s policies insure that children under the age of 13 can’t share information online without the approval of a parent. According to GameSpot sister site CNET, at this point in development Cortana doesn’t have any parental controls, so if you’re listed as being younger than 13 on your Microsoft account and try to use Cortana, she’ll respond with, "I'm sorry, you'll need to be bit older before I can help you."

Cortana is currently available in beta to developers on Windows Phone 8.1. Support for other Microsoft devices like Windows computers and Xbox consoles could come later.

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homelessgamer

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Awesome

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Hurvl

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Edited By Hurvl

Is it easy to change your age on your MS account? If so, it's just like the useless age gates that some sites have where you need to select your birth year: "Yeah, I'll pick 54 today and next time I'll maybe select 36".

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delete-EasyComeEasyGo

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Meh I rather have a Sexbot over this fake ass Holograph.

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spacecadet25

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@EasyComeEasyGo But then kids would complain that you have to be 18 or older to use your proposed Sexbot, and wonder if they can lie to the Sexbot about their age, or does the pitch of their voice matter in determining their age, etc.

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Wistful_Gamer

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I want Jarvis.

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hammoud

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@Wistful_Gamer Don't we all :(

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b74kd3th

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Good I don't need that fake bitch talking to me anyway -says all the gamer 5 year olds

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Saidrex

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whatever

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wEEman33

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Edited By wEEman33

Talk about alienating your audience.

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spacecadet25

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@wEEman33 If you're under 13 and upset about this, just be glad you can play awesome games at your age (and younger). When I was under 13 all we had were sub-8-bit 2D games on the Atari and PC (if your family was rich enough to own a PC), and most of the games were total crap. And the internet and cell phones didn't exist.

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RC-Sev

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I have only one question:"Why?"

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spacecadet25

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@RC-Sev Let me explain it by quoting about half of this short article:

"Cortana also collects data on users in the process in order to improve the experience over time, meaning it is subject to the US government's Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). COPPA’s policies insure that children under the age of 13 can’t share information online without the approval of a parent. According to GameSpot sister site CNET, at this point in development Cortana doesn’t have any parental controls..."


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s3as3a

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@spacecadet25 @RC-Sev So, I guess a way to determine if something is doing something bad to you like spying on you is to see if kids are allowed to use it.

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spacecadet25

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@s3as3a @spacecadet25 @RC-Sev No, none of these laws and regulations are just simply anti-kid. Kids have restrictions from certain things online because despite the fact that nowadays kids play around with smartphones, interact with people online, etc, it doesn't change the fact they are still kids.


Anyone that thinks kids nowadays have the same decision-making and reasoning abilities as adults (b/c now kids are good at playing with electronic devices) should read up on the findings that neurologists & psychologists found studying the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, what the pre-frontal cortex does, when it fully develops (which is in one's early 20's), and how it affects the quality of cognition, long term thinking, and decision making throughout the development process into adulthood. And of course that's just biological difference b/w kids and adults, that doesn't take into account life experience and first-hand knowledge of the real world.

So these kinds of things are not anti-child, they are for child protection.

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berserker66666

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Wow Such Tech, Much Hype, Many Angry, Very Sad, So Lame

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