Technology

40269 readers

485 users here now

A nice place to discuss rumors, happenings, innovations, and challenges in the technology sphere. We also welcome discussions on the intersections of technology and society. If it’s technological news or discussion of technology, it probably belongs here.

Remember the overriding ethos on Beehaw: Be(e) Nice. Each user you encounter here is a person, and should be treated with kindness (even if they’re wrong, or use a Linux distro you don’t like). Personal attacks will not be tolerated.

Subcommunities on Beehaw:

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 3 years ago

MODERATORS

remington@beehaw.org

alyaza@beehaw.org

TheRtRevKaiser@beehaw.org

gyrfalcon@beehaw.org

rs5th@beehaw.org

coldredlight@beehaw.org

SemioticStandard@beehaw.org

I Hate My Friend: The chatbot-enabled Friend necklace eavesdrops on your life and provides a running commentary that’s snarky and unhelpful. Worse, it can also make the people around you uneasy. (www.wired.com)

submitted 4 days ago by alyaza@beehaw.org to c/technology@beehaw.org

35 comments fedilink hide all child comments

archive.is link

The AI-powered Friend pendant is now out in the world. If you live in the US or Canada, you can buy one for $129.

The smooth plastic disc is just under 2 inches in diameter; it looks and feels a little like a beefy Apple AirTag. Inside are some LEDs and a Bluetooth radio that connects you (through your iPhone) to a chatbot in the cloud that’s powered by Google’s Gemini 2.5 model. You can tap on the disc to ask your Friend questions as it dangles around your neck, and it responds to your voice prompts by sending you text messages through the companion app. You can reply to these messages with your voice or via text to keep the conversation going.

It also listens to whatever you’re doing as you move through the world, no tap required, and offers a running commentary on the interactions you have throughout your day. To perform that trick, the device has microphones that are always activated.

If the idea of a microphone-packed wearable that’s always listening to your conversations raises privacy concerns for you, just know that you’re not alone. If your experience is anything like ours, wearing the Friend will likely earn you the ire of everyone around you. Curiously, you might even end up being bullied by the chatbot itself.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io -1 points 4 days ago (1 children)

yeah, no, we still disagree.

Okay, then, we're in disagreement. But I'm still able to use it, so.

Call it creepy if you want, that's fine, that's your opinion. It's not infringing anyone's rights.

[–] spit_evil_olive_tips@beehaw.org 2 points 4 days ago (1 children)

But I’m still able to use it, so.

yeah. except when you're not.

because this "I can do whatever I want" Ron-Swanson-wannabe brand of libertarianism is very predictable.

if you go to a dinner party and the host notices your Spyware Amulet and says "turn that off or leave my house" would you respect their property rights? without pissing and moaning about it?

if a bar or restaurant banned them (like happened with Google Glass) would you respect that rule as well?

if you were on a date, and your date noticed and said "that's kinda creepy, would you mind turning it off?" would you do it? or would you start ranting about how it's not infringing on your date's rights?

[–] FaceDeer@fedia.io 1 points 4 days ago

Those places aren't public places, so of course I'd turn it off or leave.

If I was in public and someone told me to stop recording, I'd likely say "no." Hasn't that been a major point of pushback against police demanding that we not record them, for example?