Smart Talking Toys as Virtual Assistants

A kind of extension to the virtual assistant idea.   Toys that can engage, inform, aid, teach.  It is already here with advisors like Cortana, Alexa and Siri on a phone or tablet.  But is a toy a different kind of channel that requires more care?  Yes, I believe.   Will also get kids used to the idea of using virtual assistants.

In the WSJ:  (Registration, etc)
Talking Toys Are Getting Smarter: Should We Be Worried?
Internet-connected talking dolls like Hello Barbie that can actually converse are bewitching kids but unsettling parents. Are they really the menace critics have made them out to be? ... " 

One of the toy examples, a dinosaur called Dino, from Cognitoys, is said to be based on some Watson technology, and claims to provide a 'true companion'.   The article talks to MIT device psychology commentator Sherry Turkle about how such toys can mislead children.  The article discusses how the conversational data provided by children could be mis used.

Consider also the strong engagement factor formerly seen by the Tamagotchi toys.  Or from attempts at leveraging apparent intelligence in the toy.  With little help from biomorphic forms .   Previously talked about here.

Human Robot Relationships

A good overview piece.  A review of some of Sherry Turkle's work.   We examined this when we looked at Japanese work on robot companions and help mates.   The idea continues to evolve.  Are we ready to integrate the emotional components?  Old Outer Limits TV shows come to mind.  This also overlaps with gamification  principles. 

Sherry Turkle on the Death of the Phone

Currently reading Sherry Turkle's book, mentioned below:

A podcast from HBR IdeaCast: Productivity, Multitasking, and the Death of the Phone

Featured Guest: Sherry Turkle, MIT professor and author of Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.

Alone Together

Just reading:  Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other, by MIT technology and society prof Sherry Turkle.   She is an anthropologist of the way people use tools in the form of interacting computer devices, from phones to personal robotics.  I have missed her last two books, but this is about a topic that particularly interests me. As we move into the era of the ubiquitous, location-aware, smart mobile device, we need to understand how real human connections can survive and still flourish.   Perhaps augmented by the power of the machine.  But how well?   Good read so far.  Lots of case studies from this short moment in time.    Here is the book's site, where you can get excerpts and buy it.  This excerpt from the introduction is an excellent description of what the book is about.

Alone Together

A teaser for a review of Sherry Turkels book: Alone Together in Kurzwel AI.  I anticipate reading the book.

 " ... Sherry Turkle, the widely noted MIT professor and explorer of human psychology and relationships as they are impacted by new communications technologies, has just released her latest book, Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less From Each Other.  Don’t let the book title scare you off. This is not a polemic. While Turkle is certainly out to make a point about (among other things) the possibility that the human-bot connection may satiate our desires for human-to-human connections — ultimately leaving us poorer for it — this is an enjoyable read ... "