Technology

40311 readers

203 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

alyaza@beehaw.org

TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org

gyrfalcon@beehaw.org

rs5th@beehaw.org

coldredlight@beehaw.org

SemioticStandard@beehaw.org

TheRtRevKaiser@kbin.social

remington@beehaw.org

‘I love you too!’ My family’s creepy, unsettling week with an AI toy (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 2 days ago by Powderhorn@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

7 comments fedilink hide all child comments

‘I’m going to throw that thing into a river!” my wife says as she comes down the stairs looking frazzled after putting our four-year-old daughter to bed.

To be clear, “that thing” is not our daughter, Emma*. It’s Grem, an AI-powered stuffed alien toy that the musician Claire Boucher, better known as Grimes, helped develop with toy company Curio. Designed for kids aged three and over and built with OpenAI’s technology, the toy is supposed to “learn” your child’s personality and have fun, educational conversations with them. It’s advertised as a healthier alternative to screen time and is part of a growing market of AI-powered toys.

When I agreed to experiment on my child’s developing brain, I thought an AI chatbot in cuddly form couldn’t be any worse for her than watching Peppa Pig. But I wasn’t prepared for how attached Emma became to Grem, or how unsettlingly obsequious the little alien was.

top 7 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] spit_evil_olive_tips@beehaw.org 10 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It’s advertised as a healthier alternative to screen time

vaping and e-cigarettes were initially advertised as a way for cigarette smokers to quit.

[–] JoeBigelow@lemmy.ca 1 points 2 days ago

And it did help me quit tobacco, I can hardly stand to smoke a whole cig anymore. But in turn it destroyed my gut, so now I use pouches. We'll see how these fuck me up, probably rot my gums or something.

[–] Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org 8 points 2 days ago (1 children)

You can see how Curio’s website could be mistaken for satire. The “girl” in the promotional video is Grimes, who has prominent “alien scar” tattoos and is inexplicably kneeling next to a knife.

I had to reread that part

[–] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 days ago

How this is just a sidenote in the article is beyond me. Why did they intentionally place a knife there? So messed up.

[–] yetAnotherUser@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 days ago

I'd say that this article's arguments on not letting a child alone with an AI chatbot are pretty compelling. I think parents should read the article, specifically parents that don't know much about AI.

[–] SageMountain@beehaw.org 14 points 2 days ago

Pretty sure there's multiple movies on why this shouldn't exist

[–] NoForwadSlashS@piefed.social 10 points 2 days ago

I certainly wouldn't trust an AI friend from Grimes for numerous reasons.