Have You Heard About Jibo?

creepy.


i can see the eye turning red, and refusing to do stuff, but it doesn't do anything but talk, and spy on you. i wonder if that camera is always on, and who else has use of it.


---Mike Savad

is it a coincidence that it looks a LOT like those little drones in Portal? just add bullets.


---Mike Savad

the voice is very much like it too.


---Mike Savad

I like it... and the future possibilities of these robotics are endless.

Ah, the hacking possibilities are endless..

imagine a hack. first you have a silent camera always on. the toy makes nice. talks to kids in its cute voice, ushers them to the door, and poof, kidnapping. or the jokers talking people into things because the robot "gets him" but it's really the neighbor doing the talking.

but ideally this is just a large tamagachi that you don't have to care for.

i wonder what it's powered by.

---Mike Savad

Cool...until I think about what might actually be involved in making it work.

It's not creepy and it's not cool, just another gadget that will further contribute to the degradation of the family. Imagine it replacing the comforting voice of a loving mother reading a child a bedtime story. What the modern families needs is not another gadget to further alienate us from our loved ones, isn't TV, Cable, Ipod, Ipad, and all the other devices which are designed to save us time not taking up enough of our time and keeping us from more human interaction? I think the dangers of this type of technology was well demonstrated in the classic movie 2001:A space Odyssey, when Hal had other ideas.

I never even got into the one that vacuums your floor. I'll pass, thanks.

Mario--I absolutely agree with you.

I find your statements ironic, Mario, as you sit and type to all of us on a computer. Too funny :-))))

towards the end of that main video, when the kid is in bed - the voice sounds the same.

---Mike Savad

Well said, Mario..

the computer doesn't talk back. and it's useful. without it i couldn't do anything. but the robot thingy, is really only meant for really lonely people. do you get a second one, do they interact? if you get 4 do they rebel? its like a plant that talks, but you can at least eat the plant.


---Mike Savad

It's the world we live in, all I'm saying is do we really need more? I dread the day those cars that drive themselves come out, one computer glitch and you might find yourself flying high over some overpass.

Maybe you don't have a web cam, Mike. I don't know.

It sounds as though you did not watch the entire video?

I understand, Mario, but the world is not going to stop and sit idle. We going to keep progressing.

Imagine for one second how a robot like this can inform the elderly that it's time to take some medicine. Or, imagine when a robot can call for emergency services when someone alone in the house has an accident and becomes unresponsive. Imagine how a robot can actually keep family connected from across the globe. I saw a video just the other day how robots are already being used in the operating room.

And those are just a small fraction of possibilities.

i watched it. it has a built in camera, and can track you. and the only way you know its on, is a graphic of camera. but otherwise it always has a camera on so it can look at you while it talks. i don't have a web camera, for the main reason that it can be hacked, with the light off and it can view everything in the room. turn on the mic and it can listen in.

i didn't see much point in it. i also don't see the point in having a conversation with a phone either. so maybe i'm just not into it. it would get lonely if i had one, i don't talk much. it would run away. tethered to the wall, it will have to chew something off to get out. the device is more like a full scale clippy.


---Mike Savad

i wonder how many elderly would trust this thing? many don't trust computers. my grandfather would type everything with a typewriter before he put it into a computer. while that was a while ago, i think the same holds true.

---Mike Savad

No one knows, yet, I suppose. Only time will tell.

Since he's 'the world's best camera man', he can take our pictures and give us more time to spend in here...

I think it's pretty cool and would have no problem throwing a towel over the thing when needed.

"Since he's 'the world's best camera man'..."

I certainly know firsthand my body struggles to get that tripod as low to the ground as possible and be able to take those low profile landscapes. I would welcome an assistant!

I have to agree with Mario. It's a slippery slope.



The cake is a lie!

Jeffery, exactly, the technology replaces a human from having to be there and providing some thing a robot will never be able to provide, artificial intelligence or not. That's my point.

I urge you to read Ted Kaczynski's "manifesto" remember he was the Uni-bomber.

Please don't get me wrong I don't share his ideology or any other murderous person as he took 3 lives and injured some 23 others.

But that does not take away from the future he envisioned due to technology and why, he was a disturbed individual and serial killer but his manifesto, and I did read it several times certainly revealed a lot of ways the government was misusing the technology, of course his idea to eradicate all technology was just surely over board.

I think that it's a doubled edged sword and that one day in not the to distant future we will all be paying the price for relying so much on technology. Once someone figures out how to hack into the power grids we will all wish we were not so dependent on electricity much less any other modern advancement.

I certainly understand what you're saying, Mario. Believe me, I do. What about those unfortunate people who do not have someone there?

Well, the question should be why don't those people have someone (a social issue) , not let's give'm a robot.

Or a death in the family...that comes to mind. We can agree to disagree, that's fine. No hard feelings.

None at all Jeffery, I can be opinionated but I respect another's right to have opposing views, and many times I have changed my views on many things. But it does make for good discussion.

I love the robot, loved the video. I have to say if I wasnt so afraid of hackers I'd buy one. one of my employees was hacked and by business was robed once and we didnt know but the hackers had been watching us trough all the cameras linked to the business. Resuld no more web cams and all cameras are independant of the web and very carefuly hidden strategic places.
Even Norton has published on this mater since alot of people suffered from this.
Are Hackers Using Your Webcam to Watch You?
Kim Boatman
Find Under: Prevention


Steven Fox, an IT security expert, was chatting with friends on his webcam one night when he started receiving some strange emails. Imagine his surprise when he opened one and found images of himself chatting.

His webcam had been hacked by a “script kiddie,” a person who uses malware written by someone else to show off their skills at accessing other computer systems, says Fox. He quickly detached the webcam, but he had to re-install his operating system after he found malware installed on his computer. “It was painful, but it was a learning experience,” says Fox, who writes a column for the journal of the Information Systems Security Association.

The risks of webcams
Webcams may let you stay in touch with friends and family, but they also pose risks of people hacking into them and spying on you. A recent Pennsylvania lawsuit accused a school district of using webcams on school-issued laptops to spy on students and their families. And in China, a sophisticated network of hackers known as GhostNet has cracked 1,295 webcams in 103 countries.

Since most laptops now come with a built-in webcam, it’s critical to understand the risks, says Richard Stiennon, a malware expert with IT-Harvest, a research firm that specializes in Internet security. “We all have to become aware that our every action could be watched,” says Stiennon.

How hackers attack webcams
Most hackers utilize so-called Trojan horse attacks, says Stiennon. You click on an attachment or download a piece of music or video infected with malware, and a hacker is able to remotely control your PC’s functions.
Still i think the robot is great!

I hope they're looking at my webcam right now....:-))))))

Thanks for chiming in. It will be interesting to see how these progress over the next 20 years.

If you are a single dude, this thing could totally ruin your life.

Imagine, you walk into the door with a date when Jibo greets you saying, "Hello, Dave. You have 5 messages pending from Ashley, Karen and Monica..." Your companion would bolt out the door and you'd back to playing video games. Then, Jibo starts singing Daisy while you try to deactivate all power sources.

One thing is for sure, this thing would be a no-no on a military base.

Who knows, maybe the NSA will distribute Jibo to all citizens in the next 20 years?

i can see google buying them. and in your sleep, borg probes jump out and inject you with google nanobots, combining forces with that robot dog thing, they will create some kind of unstoppable force for hostile take overs.


---Mike Savad

"Hello, Dave. You have 5 messages pending from Ashley, Karen and Monica..."

Or, you are the man!! Depends on how she looks at it.

Injections with no-nobots? Mike, you watch too much sci-fi

@Jeffrey, she won't look at it like that, trust me. ;)

I don't trust anyone, thank you, though.

"Hello, Dave. You have 5 messages pending from Ashley, Karen and Monica..."
very funny

Who knows, Ashley, Karen, and Monica could be Dave's siblings who just arrived in town. :)

you are right its just funny he woulnt want his date to hear the voice mail.
Good evening everyone.

Well, in my work robots are considered bad and good. They are bad because the need for scientists isn't as strong as a result of robotics. Technicians that manage robots are needed, but not chemists or biologists etc. Right now in science a company can't compete without robotics and neither can manufacturing companies compete without the right technology. The elderly will be taken care of by robot technology one day probably soon. In the future cars, planes and trains will drive themselves, packages will be delivered by robot, it's all good. We're almost there now. Robots are much more dependable and predictable than people in my opinion but they do make mistakes, no question of that, but they get a lot more accomplished as well.

Dunno. You'd have to program it, and I don't see myself doing that. I already feel weird enough talking to my dog like he's a human. Today I just saw an ad for the new Apple smart watch. It looks huge, yet you'd still have to have teeny-tiny fingertips to even use it. I'll wait until all the dust settles on any of these.

"i can see the eye turning red, and refusing to do stuff, but it doesn't do anything but talk, and ***spy on you***. i wonder if that camera is always on, and who else has use of it. " (Mike)


"What the modern families needs is not another gadget to further alienate us from our loved ones, isn't TV, Cable, Ipod, Ipad, and all the other devices which are designed to save us time not taking up enough of our time and keeping us from more human interaction?" (Mario)


I agree.

Hello, Jibo!

LOL. I like it! Though I have only taken a few “selfies” --- and all of these while the camera was on a tripod---I am confident that this will greatly help those that love to take snapshots of themselves, and their family and friends.

And while they have systems that will turn ones lights on and off, lock the doors, and follow various and sundry other tasks, this portable bot seems to be a bit more useful.

As far as, creepy? Well, Jibo will never be a member of my family!

As well, I find, Dr Cynthia Breazeal quite creepy.

Oh sure. As the founder and CEO of the company she is doing all she can to promote the gadget.

Now. If she could only get the little bugger to vacuum the floor, do the laundry, go get the mail, and answer the freaking door... oh wait... answering the door may not be such a good idea... :-<

And.... if this idea ever “gets off the ground” …. (see this discussion)

http://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1996114

...perhaps Jibo will one day be able to go outside and develop a relationship with the drone that just delivered a pizza to your front door.

By the way, the price point seems to be---for now---between 5 and 6 hundred bucks. Hmmmn..... (source --- https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=jibo%20price )

“the computer doesn't talk back. and it's useful. without it i couldn't do anything. but the robot thingy...”

Hold on, Mike. The “robot thingy”, is just a computer. I am quite confident it has an on/off switch. And if not? I can quickly reach a towel.

if i could turn it off, or toss a towel on it - why do i need it?

seems pointless to have a small plug in device, that has facial recognition and watches everything. does it have a way to upload information? do you go to be naked perhaps?

they seemed to have one in every room. can they link up with each other? use one to spy in another room? if a burglar comes in, and it doesn't know the password will the cops be called.

does this alarm clock with a face recognize there are 2 people in the room, so telling it to remind you to put on that rash cream - will it not do it because there is someone else?

when it was taking the photo, did it tell anyone to scoot over a bit? or to smile? or you on then end, you closed your eyes. and i saw no flash on it, and they were back lit - where did the light come from?

i would say its good for kids, but unless you never want them to talk to people, i guess its ok.

will this be smart enough, that if you told it to call 911- it would do it? if it looked like you had a heart attack, what about then? most of the rest of this stuff are apps you can download. recipe helpers and such, i'm sure siri and the others can fill that in without the gyrated movements.

---Mike Savad

Rather creepy to me. I'm not sure I'm ready to talk to devices. My wife's car has voice command but I don't know if I'll ever use it. I'll talk to the dog but at least he is alive.

I see the application for Skype for home or office unless the viewer gets dizzy watching the screen snap around. One big drawback with this single node system is you have to decide where to put it or constantly move it around the house.

Seems a future with iPad type panels/stations in every room is more likely.

That's the beauty of development, Mike. Anything is possible.

On one hand very cool. On the other it's scary. Kind of like Google glasses or the possibility of planting WiFi chips in the brain.

Science fiction often accurately tells the future. Issac Asimov for example, more than 50 years ago, correctly predicted the Internet in stories about Mulitvac and people walking up to data terminals in their homes to get information. He also wrote about the havoc caused by the invention of and eventual loss of control of robots and artificial intelligence.

Technology is not always the best thing. It often has a way of not always turning out so good. It's like Jeffrey said, time will tell.