Noticed on Supergee's journal...

[sleigh]

There's a new prototype Barbie doll that can reputedly hold conversations with your child. The catch: all those conversations are recorded and sent over the internet to ToyTalk, the company who has developed the technology, for the purpose (according to their CEO) of processing their voice recognition software to better understand how to interact with children. The recordings are stored on ToyTalk and Mattel's servers, for how long no one is saying. Parents can be emailed highlights of their child's conversation with the doll.

Sounds like a great idea, doesn't it? Nothing can possibly go wrong here, right?

The doll is scheduled to be presented at Toy Fair 2014, and is expected to be for sale this coming Christmas.

Comments

[guppiecat]

There's a lot that could go wrong here.

There is also the potential for an child abuse prevention early-warning system. Facebook didn't think they were building one, but it grew out of their complaint process because it was a crime to know about what was going on and not involve the authorities. I can see something similar happening here.

I don't think that offsets the negatives entirely, but it is a positive that will likely be overlooked in the initial analysis.

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

*raises one eyebrow*

That's a big pile of nope.