Alexa, thanks for the music

About two years ago I received a call from my mother. “You know,” she said, “Alexa is really working out. I was feeling a little depressed, so I told Alexa to play some nice music, and that’s exactly what she did. Within a few minutes I felt so much better!”

Alexa had become not exactly a companion, but a presence in my mother’s house – a presence that made both her, and myself, feel a little better. This was at least part of what I hoped would happen when I first went shopping for an Echo device. Websites focused on elderly care are full of advice on how to do that add Amazon’s smart speakers as a useful tooland Amazon’s technology is designed to make technology more approachable and approachable – goals that Amazon often, but not always, succeeds in.

My mother grew up at a time when having a home phone was new and exciting

Here’s how it started. My mother had spent most of her life as a teacher in the New York public school system, a bright, savvy woman with a master’s degree in education, a progressive political stance, and a sometimes irritating ability to take charge of almost any situation. to take. But she was now in her late nineties and beginning to have serious problems with her health and short-term memory. Despite her determination to remain independent for as long as possible – by playing games on her computer, keeping up with the news and writing extensive diary entries about her daily activities – this increasingly affected her ability to carry out simple tasks, to to learn. new skills and independent living.

We were able to hire an assistant to help her during the day: preparing meals, cleaning up and helping with other chores that she could not do herself. But my mother was also stubborn and refused to have anyone there at night or to wear an emergency button in case she needed help. I lived about 40 minutes away and only spent weekends with her. We needed a way to make sure she was okay when she was the only person in the apartment.

So I gave her an Amazon Echo Show 8 smart display in hopes that it could be the start of a smart home system that would help keep her safe and active. It all depended on how well my mother, who grew up in a time when having a home phone was new and exciting, would accept the device. The Echo’s eight-inch screen was large enough for easy viewing, but small enough so it wouldn’t clutter the room. She could communicate with the personal assistant, while I could communicate with her remotely using the camera. I set it up and introduced her to Alexa.

And – it worked. Sort of.

I thought we could use it as a way to communicate visually. That was pretty much a failure. My mother was used to calling people, and while she was impressed with the whole idea of ​​’see the person you’re talking to’, she wasn’t very keen on using it herself. “It’s not for me,” she said firmly.

Verger Jennifer Pattison Tuohy was able to visit her father via an Echo Show. My mother was not very cooperative.Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

OkayI thought, there is always the “drop-in” function. I could use it to keep an eye on what was happening in the apartment. However, the Echo Show was placed in a small room off the kitchen that we called ‘The Den’, where my mother ate her meals, wrote in her diary and spent much of her time – and as a result it could only “ look” in that room and the kitchen. The one time I suggested putting cameras in the apartment, I got one of her looks — the one that made me feel like I was five years old again. A camera in the bedroom? No way.

But luckily there were some things the Echo did help with. About that time, my mother’s old bedside radio finally gave up the ghost. It was with some trepidation that I replaced it with an Echo Dot with Clock – and was thrilled when my mother told me she loved it! Not only could she see what time it was, but she could also ask Alexa what the weather was like from her bed. And what made me happy was that I could teach her to shout, “Alexa, call Barbara” when she needed me in an emergency. Between the Dot and the Show, Alexa could now respond no matter where my mother was in the apartment – ​​including the bathroom with the door closed. (I checked.) She only used the feature a few times, and never for a real emergency, but it was there for a “just in case.”

But in the end, music was the most important gift the two Echoes gave to my mother.

Decades ago, my parents purchased what was then the latest in audio technology: a modular stereo system that consisted of a record player, a receiver, an AM/FM radio and a cassette player. Now it lay unused because it had become too complicated for my mother to handle. But with the Echo she could play music whenever she wanted. She didn’t even have to remember the names of the songs she liked, or the names of the musicians she had once been fond of. All she had to do was say, “Alexa, play some calm music” or “Alexa, play some happy music.” Alexa played old-fashioned blues, folk or big band music. And I got a call about how she had been listening to her music and how good it made her feel.

An Echo Dot with clock was a nice replacement for the old clock radio.Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Did the two Echos do everything I hoped? Well yes and no. They certainly gave my mother an easy and friendly way to get information and memories. More importantly, they provided a way for her to contact me in an emergency. But I never found the time to install other available smart setups. It was, at least then, too complex a task to deal with.

Amazon has even experimented with expanding the usability of its smart devices for seniors. I never got around to trying Amazon’s Alexa Together service, which costs $20 a month, and which was connected to its own 24/7 emergency service – and apparently it wasn’t very successful, as it launched in June was discontinued this year. I might have opted for the cheaper Emergency Assistant feature, which allows users to contact emergency services and was introduced last September. But by then, my mother was receiving 24-hour care from family and aides and no longer needed it.

Still, the Echo was good to have. Toward the end of her life, when my mother was bedridden and too weak to talk, I could sit next to her and say, “Alexa, play some Woody Guthrie” or “Alexa, play some Bessie Smith” or “Alexa, play what Count Basie.” The music started and my mom smiled—and felt better for a while. And while Amazon’s smart speaker wasn’t the perfect answer to all our needs, I’ll always be grateful to Alexa for those few moments.