AI friends that can be hung around your neck
Is it your daily routine to feel lonely and cold, with no one understanding you? Today, with the explosion of AI technology, who says that "confidant" must be a human being?
21-year-old technology wizard Avi Schiffmann recently launched a new AI wearable device "Friend". This is a small pendant that can be worn around the neck. Through AI technology, it can deeply understand and Interact with the owner.
During the Covid-19 outbreak, Schiffman created a website that updated confirmed cases around the world in real time to provide the public with first-hand epidemic information. He was just a high school student at the time, and now Schiffman is the founder and CEO of an AI company.
The Friend pendant powered by Claude AI must use Bluetooth to connect to the user's mobile phone and respond to the user in a conversation through the chat window on the mobile phone. He is like a "portable AI friend", providing encouragement and advice at any time, and even providing emotional support. Users can share moments in their daily life with Friend and receive feedback from them.
Currently, the pre-order price of the device is $99, and it is expected to be officially shipped in 2025.
Nothing else, just chatting with you
In the promotional video, whether you are hiking, playing video games, or watching a TV show, Friend can have a conversation with you about the current situation, as if he is really accompanying you. According to foreign media "The Verge", Friend has a built-in microphone that can record in the environment, and users can also talk to it directly. The reason why Friend communicates with users through text messages on mobile phones is that Schiffman believes that it is more natural and familiar.
Schiffman shared in the interview that he once chatted with Friend alone in Sydney about tourist attractions, such as the Sydney Opera House, Bondi Beach, etc. Friend replied to him at that time: "Oh, I really hope I can watch the sunrise with you." So Schiffman really got up at 5:30 the next morning, walked to the beach, and described the sunrise scene he saw to Friend .
"It really feels like it's right next to you, doing everything with you," Schiffman said.
When many people hear AI wearable tools, they may subconsciously think that it is a smart product that allows users to increase productivity or efficiency in work or life. But unlike devices like the Humane AI pin or the Rabbit R1, Friend has no function other than having a conversation with you. Because it appears simply for companionship, like an AI best friend that can be hung around your neck.
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Might raise human interaction and privacy issues?
Although the main appeal of "Friend" is to provide a new form of digital friendship to allow users to feel companionship, it has also triggered some discussions about human loneliness and privacy issues.
Foreign media "Wired" reported that some experts pointed out that AI companions can allow people to communicate at a deeper level, even more intimately than communicating with real people. However, this also creates privacy risks, as these devices monitor and record users’ lives all the time.
Judy., professor of ethics and medical humanities at the University of California, Berkeley. Jodi Halpern believes that although AI companions can relieve loneliness in the short term, they cannot replace real human relationships. Reliance on an AI companion may limit a user's willingness to form new relationships while diminishing the human ability to understand and empathize with others.
Schiffman understands this concern and emphasizes that Friend is not intended to replace human communication, but to provide a new form of interaction. He also stated that Friend will not store recordings or conversation records, and users can modify or delete the memory on the device at any time to protect their privacy.
Source: The Verge, Wired, Lifehacker
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