Bayer Launches Amazon Alexa Skill to Turn Students into Scientists
*By Michael Teich*
Bayer is turning to Amazon Alexa to find the world's next big scientists, engineers, and mathematicians.
The German pharmaceutical and science giant is launching "Science Studio," an Alexa STEM education skill designed to engage the next generation of students.
"This is now ears-on-science to do the hands-on-science. Let's go to where the kids are and let's help get them excited about science," Ray Kerins, Bayer's SVP of Corporate Affairs said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Bayer's efforts caught the attention of six-time Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She sees STEM education as a big opportunity to build a bright future for girls.
"To get young girls to have an interest in science, and then with this Alexa Echo app, it's just amazing," she told Cheddar.
It is projected that nearly 2.5 million STEM jobs will go unfilled in 2018. By introducing science experiment instructions integrated with Amazon's ($AMZN) smart speaker, Bayer thinks investing in STEM education can minimize future vacancies in the field.
"Kids lose interest on STEM and science in the 5th and 6th grade. More importantly, unfortunately, young girls lose it and minorities even worse so," Kerins added.
Targeting smart speakers gives Bayer a foot in the door into millions of homes. In 2017, there were 45 million connected homes using virtual assistants and that number is expected to more than double in the next couple of years. It is estimated that 94.2 million households, or 75 percent of U.S. households, will own a smart speaker by 2020.
China’s Alibaba Group has announced a major management reshuffle as the e-commerce giant restructures into six different business divisions to adapt to fast-changing technologies.
Multinational companies including Amazon, Marriott and Hilton pledged Monday to hire more than 13,000 refugees, including Ukrainian women who have fled the war with Russia, over the next three years in Europe.
Many parents are already planning an early outing for back-to-school shopping, despite the early days of summer. Inflation concerns have spurred people to plan ahead in spending. Bryce Gruber, executive editor of Today's Parent, joined Cheddar News to help provide money-saving tips for affordable school shopping.
Twitter is planning to pivot to video content, according to Reuters. Cheddar News explains how the tech giant looks to double down on video, creative and e-commerce strategies.
Whether it's a gym membership, a cell phone contract, or an extended warranty, getting locked into a bad contract can be frustrating and very costly. So we wanted to share some advice to avoid potential risks involved. Let's take a look.
Multiple U.S. owners of Hyundai's popular Ioniq 5 electric SUV have complained of completely or partially losing propulsive power, many after hearing a loud popping noise, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Saturday.
