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    NPR's Smart Speaker Promos Prompt Smart Questions

    As NPR begins to offer its audio content on smart speakers, listeners ask about the ethics of promoting the new technology and raise security concerns.
    by Anne Johnson Mar 09, 2018 5 minutes
    Source: NPR/Laundry

    In recent weeks, many listeners have noticed something new: NPR hosts urging them to tell their smart speaker to play NPR. It's a sign that NPR is now available and prominently featured as a leading news source on Amazon's Alexa, Apple's HomePod, Samsung's Bixby, Microsoft's Cortana, and Google Home. But the messages have confused some listeners and raised concerns from others about why NPR is seemingly promoting the technology, and whether it is being paid to do so.

    According to a recent NPR/Edison Research , 16 percent of Americans over age 18 own a smart speaker (that's about 39 million people). Of those owners, 71 percent are listening to more audio since getting a smart speaker. For many, the smart speaker is replacing their terrestrial radio set, and NPR

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