Who is “Alexa”?

mindminder works on the Alexa platform provided by Amazon.
Alexa is not a "thing" or a "person" but more a clever system that can interpret human speech, decipher it into a written command or answer using Artificial Intelligence, and pass it to a "skill" to do something with it.

Devices
Alexa is most typically present in dedicated devices such as the Alexa-enabled “Echo” devices shown here but can also be embedded in phones, tablets, TVs and other devices around the home. 
There are over half a billion Alexa-enabled devices worldwide.
The most familiar Alexa-enabled devices are shown below.

Security
You may have heard in the press some negativity around using Amazon Alexa; some issues are discussed at he bottom of this page.  mindminder fully supports the use of Amazon Alexa if it is done so sensibly and with the right configuration and diligence.

Alexa "Skills"

You may already be familiar with Alexa as a way to ask for details from the internet or to ask to hear your favourite music via dedicated “Skills”.
"Skills" are the way Alexa interacts with an owner/User. A Skill is a particular application that defines the model for interaction, the information that Alexa will convey, the details/data that are accessible and any other aspects of the interaction.
In the simplest instance, Alexa comes pre-loaded with Skills that can provide details of the weather by asking "Alexa what is the weather going to be like today?", general trivia "Alexa how many pounds are there in a kilogram" or "Alexa, what is the capital city of Peru", or play music "Alexa play me some 80s rock music". However there are over 40,000 Skills available for download in the UK; many of  limited effectiveness, with much duplication/equivalent functionality, and many very basic in their scope.  However there are some notable very strong Skills such as those offered by the BBC (like the "BBC Kids", "BBC Sounds" and "BBC News" Skills).

The mindmnder Skill approach.

mindminder took a completely new approach to interacting with Users. Of course one can still invoke a mindminder dialogue by stating "Alexa, open mindminder" but that's not effective for someone with failing memory or even some compromises in speech or language.
Therefore, mindminder takes a novel approach in completely turning the interaction flow around so that Alexa initiates the dialogue with a user following a carer-tailored schedule. This is an important change in the usual conversation with an Alexa device as users with Dementia are less likely to voluntarily invoke a spontaneous conversation and so, using the standard Alexa scheduling tools available to any Alexa owner (typically the mindminder "Carer"), mindminder can be triggered at pre-determined times around a user’s daily routine/availability.  In fact for a user with multiple Alexa-enabled devices, mindminder can be initiated on different devices at different times should this be necessary to work around a User's lifestyle or routines.

Once a conversation with mindminder is initiated, mindminder uses the answers to the conversation to develop a database of answers against which the rate of decline (or stability) in a user’s condition , lifestyle, diet and wellbeing can be projected.  Mindminder’s intuitive dashboards allow a carer an insight into a user’s wellbeing without the need for physical intervention via visits or time-consuming phone calls.

The mindminder skill is free to install and try. However to customise the content to a user, a mindminder subscription is necessary.
As mindminder is currently in a pilot phase, paid subscriptions are not yet available. Watch this space for updates!.

Alexa and Security

Alexa devices listen to what's going on in their environment. That is a fact.