AI Pets

Even pets are losing their jobs to AI, apparently.AI pets of all shapes, colors, sizes, and …animal-adjacent appearances are becoming more popular. Say goodbye to the lifeless beanie babies or clunky old tamagotchis of the past: now, thanks to generative AI, your artificial pet can talk!Well, sort of. Most can’t talk talk, not like a person can, but they can communicate in an animal-unique way through sounds (of varying degrees of “shrill”), body language, HEARTBEATS, and personal diaries - perfect for some light reading in your spare time.We cover the following pets, some old, some revamped, and most very, very new:Paro, the OG AI pet sealFamiliar Machines & Magic’s bear slash cat slash dog (it will paw you if you doomscroll for too long, btw)Go2, Unitree’s war machine dog reminiscent of that one Black Mirror episode, now labeled as a pet companionAibo, Sony’s robot dogMoflin (Labubu 2.0?)Quobo (literally just a fluffy pillow)FuzozoOlloNi (AKA Ollobot, they’re just seeing what sticks)...you won’t believe what the S and L versions stand for. We still don’t believe itAura, the AI pet FOR your real pet (how many more layers deep will we go??)After discussing the weirdness of all these new products and questions about what they aim to do, listen to the conversation devolve as we ask “Would you want an AI pet?” Reddit’s got some answers for us. This conversation includes:What on earth is going on in founders’ minds when they’re coming up with these products (feels a bit like they started brainstorming with ChatGPT 4-o, no less)Whether we’re moving toward a “role play,” artificial-simulation-based licensing of sorts with all these AI versions of things (from pets to companions to children, even)What are we teaching people about pets and animals, generally, by making them artificial and immortal and not “burdensome”As always, we’re keen to hear what you think about all of these AI pets. Would you want one, do you have one, and what’s up with all that?-This is Our Lives With Bots, the show where we ask important, timely questions about what it means to live with our bot counterparts. From time to time, we also dive deep into what an AI future might look like for us. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we spiral, but we always go deep.Rose and Angy are psychologists with degrees in psychology, artificial intelligence, and ethics. They have conducted research in human-AI interaction and created this podcast to make information about AI accessible to you. You can learn more about us at ⁠ourliveswithbots.com⁠.-Links:Paro, AI seal: Paro, AI for Good, Research Meta-AnalysisFamiliar Machines (& Magic): Website, AP News, Indy100, TechNewsWorld, Fox NewsQUOBOFuzozoMoflin by Casio, the ad for it, Sherwood NewsOlloNiGo2 robot dogAura, the pet for your pet: TuyaReddit: Do you want an AI Pet?