"A new pendant-shaped wearable that continuously records everything you do isn't just an enormous privacy violation in the making - it's also a jerk that loves to mouth off. The $129 wearable, with the uninspired name "Friend," is the brainchild of 22-year-old entrepreneur Avi Schiffmann, who sought to end a growing loneliness epidemic by providing his customers with a companion that hangs by their every word and can summarize conversations retroactively."
"As The Verge reported last year, the chatbot's foul mood is by design, with Schiffmann arguing it's far more engaging when an AI's moodiness is turned up to 11. The company's website doesn't elaborate on the wearable's purpose in any meaningful way, but links to a controversial promotional video that was immediately heavily criticized for being " creepy" and " beyond parody last summer."
"Robison quickly grew to despise the gizmo. She wore the device to a party organized by AI startup Anthropic, and ended up being accused of "wearing a wire" - to her, an indication that "even at the most tech-minded gatherings, the thing was a complete taboo." Put simply, nobody wants to have their every word be recorded by somebody else's AI wearable, which makes it an especially terrible fit for journalists."
A pendant-shaped wearable named Friend records conversations continuously, offers retroactive summaries, and costs $129. The device was created by a young entrepreneur who pitched it as a remedy for loneliness and deliberately programs the chatbot to be moody for engagement. A promotional video drew heavy criticism for feeling creepy. Real-world testing produced social pushback: people reacted negatively to being recorded, and wearing the device at tech events provoked accusations of surveillance. Testers also encountered technical shortcomings related to connectivity and compatibility, undermining its promise as a convenient companion gadget.
Read at Futurism
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