Perhaps the most prominent of recent developments have been the emergence of the computerized pet as a viable concept. The trend started only a few years ago with those obnoxious little tamagotchi toy
Perhaps the most prominent of recent developments have been the emergence of the computerized pet as a viable concept. The trend started only a few years ago with those obnoxious little tamagotchi toys, and hit a recent peak with the release of the Aibo by Sony. Whilst youd be hard pressed to make a case for AI in a blob the size of a small egg with a teensy LCD screen, Sonys Aibo is starting to push the envelope a bit. Aibo, for those not up to date with pet AIs, is a dog-like robot that progressively develops a broad behavioral repetoir. It walks, it barks, it plays ball. Whether or not Aibo is really there or not, its good fun and more than a little eerie.
Theres an important lesson to be learned for AI engineers here - its much easier to pass the Turing Test if youre cute. Being able to form an emotional bond with a machine seems to be one of the most important parts of people being able to regard a machine as alive and intelligent. Even with tamagotchis, which only bleep plaintively every so often and display kitschy little images, the level of emotional interaction youd find between owner and pet was enormous.