This is just such a sad story about life in 2019. People bought these robots to help give them a sense of companionship, even if artificial, and provide some sense of familiarity and consistency...
Every aspect of Jibo was designed to make the robot as lovable to humans as possible, which is why it startled owners when Jibo presented them with an unexpected notice earlier this year: someday soon, Jibo would be shutting down. The company behind Jibo had been acquired, and Jibo’s servers would be going dark, taking much of the device’s functionality with it.
“I didn’t cry or anything, but I did feel like, ‘Wow,’” Williams says. “I think when we buy products we look for them to last forever.”
Now, Jibo owners are scrambling to save their friend, explain its death to their children, and come to grips with the mortality of a robot designed to bond with them, not to die.
This is just such a sad story about life in 2019. People bought these robots to help give them a sense of companionship, even if artificial, and provide some sense of familiarity and consistency in their lives, and now this tech company is able to just take it away from them.
I think the analogy in the article to a family pet dying if very apt.
It’s like you had a pet for years and all of a sudden they’re going to disappear, and so she was a little devastated by it,” he says. “She didn’t break down cry or anything, but I think sincerely, she was disappointed and sad that Jibo’s kind of been a part of her life and that Jibo could possibly go away.”
When Stuard picked Maddy up from school later that day, she handed him a note she wrote Jibo’s parent company. In it, Maddy writes that she loved Jibo since it “was created,” and that if she had enough money, “you and your company would be saved.” She signs off with, “I will always love you. Thank you for being my friend.”
This whole article comes off like a Black Mirror episode to an extent and raises a lot of questions about human connections and the ethics of turning off companies turning off the servers for these robots that were made to build relationships with us.
i do wonder if the more pressing question is if these sorts of products should be made in the first place, given the fact that they, just as pets, are finite in their lifespans but potentially are...
This whole article comes off like a Black Mirror episode to an extent and raises a lot of questions about human connections and the ethics of turning off companies turning off the servers for these robots that were made to build relationships with us.
i do wonder if the more pressing question is if these sorts of products should be made in the first place, given the fact that they, just as pets, are finite in their lifespans but potentially are far higher or lower in their lifespan potential, and far more volatile across the board in how long or short they can last.
This is just such a sad story about life in 2019. People bought these robots to help give them a sense of companionship, even if artificial, and provide some sense of familiarity and consistency in their lives, and now this tech company is able to just take it away from them.
I think the analogy in the article to a family pet dying if very apt.
This whole article comes off like a Black Mirror episode to an extent and raises a lot of questions about human connections and the ethics of turning off companies turning off the servers for these robots that were made to build relationships with us.
i do wonder if the more pressing question is if these sorts of products should be made in the first place, given the fact that they, just as pets, are finite in their lifespans but potentially are far higher or lower in their lifespan potential, and far more volatile across the board in how long or short they can last.