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IBM Patenting HAL-Like Stuffed Animal Toys
theodp writes "'Look, Dave,' said HAL. 'I can see you're really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill and think things over.' Put a HAL 9000 in a baby's stuffed animal toy, a toddler's EEG-equipped knit cap, or other interactive monitoring device, and you've got the gist of IBM Research's just-published patent application for its Adaptive System for Real-Time Behavioral Coaching and Command Intermediation. 'For example,' explains Big Blue, 'to help a child who plays rough with other children the interaction data can include multiple interaction operations that can be performed by the interactive device for helping the child play less rough with other children. For example, one interaction operation can include an audible warning telling the child 'to play nice' in a strict tone of voice, whereas another interaction operation can include an audible warning that asks the child 'would you like someone to do that to you' in a softer tone of voice along with a visual cue as well."
Isn't it the parent's responsibility to "coach" their child? Maybe if more parents did their job properly there wouldn't be a perceived need for IBM's technology.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
Please don't teach kids that it's okay to receive moral instruction from an AI (or worse, a mere expert system). Kids are insidious rules lawyers who will bend and twist words/actions to fit what they want. Human guardians need to be there to make them understand that rules lawyering is not socially acceptable. An expert system will be just as easily beat as the end game boss monster in Mega Man XXXVI.