Toymaker Mattel Cancels AI Babysitter After Privacy Complaints (theverge.com)

An anonymous reader shares a report: Toymaker Mattel has shelved plans to build an "all-in-one voice-controlled smart baby monitor," after complaints about the device were raised by privacy advocates and child psychologists. According to a report from The Washington Post, the company said in a statement that the device, named Aristotle, did not "fully align with Mattel's new technology strategy" and would not be "[brought] to the marketplace." Aristotle was unveiled back in January this year by Mattel's Nabi brand. It combined the smart speaker and digital assistant functionality of Amazon's Echo with a connected camera that acted as a baby monitor. But the Aristotle was intended to be a much more active presence in children's lives than an Echo speaker, with Mattel claiming it would read them bedtime stories, soothe them if they cried in the night, and even teach them their ABCs. A petition asking Mattel not to release the Aristotle gained more than 15,000 signatories.

Comments

Re:Too bad

[Captain Splendid]

Ya know, considering how many people complain that everything comes connected to the 'cloud' nowadays, (whether it needs it or not), you'd think someone would have started up a company that sells untethered products. Seems like there would be a market for that.

Baby Darling

[Thud457]

"Kill Mommy!"
"Kill Mommy!"

uhhh, no, it's saying "Quiero a mami"

Re:Too bad

[Aaden42]

There isn't much of a market though. Most people (biggest market) don't care. Somebody managed to get a "THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!!!!" cry out on this one which was enough to motivate some of the drones, but that's the exception.

Whiners

[fred911]

"A petition asking Mattel not to release the Aristotle gained more than 15,000 signatories."

  It's a pretty easy fix for a product you don't like or agree with, DON'T BUY IT!

  Petition, please. Some parents may WANT to expose their children to this type of technology and you don't have the right to tell them not to.

Re:Whiners

[Anonymous Coward]

Busybodies. We've become a nation of entitled busybodies. Even the laziest, most worthless American can find food and basic shelter, and one half a rung above them you can get a smartphone and blather self-importantly on twitter. You can literally be a functional moron and if your crackpot twitter post finds the right audience suddenly it will catch fire and people think your opinion is meaningful because 10k other morons on twitter retwittered it.

Re:Whiners

[CanHasDIY]

Petition, please. Some parents may WANT to expose their children to this type of technology and you don't have the right to tell them not to.

Conversely, though, Mattel is under no obligation to sell said technology. While I agree that it seems idiotic to kowtow to 0.004902 percent of the population, as a private corporation, Mattel has final say on what products they offer.

Maybe it's time to create your own AI babysitter.

Preferably with blackjack, and hookers.

Re:Bummer

[Anonymous Coward]

What am I supposed to do now for a job?

Ask the prototype for help with your resume.

Mattel: "Whoops, we got caught!"

[Rick Schumann]

Mattel: "Better not release it this year. Let's wait for next year and see if we can sneak it in."

Re:Mattel: "Whoops, we got caught!"

[RightSaidFred99]

Go caught what, thinking of a completely legitimate product that can succeed or fail in the marketplace on its own merits? Yeah, that damn Mattel!

Google, Amazon, Twitter, and Facebook know literally everything about me but that AI enabled smartcam is just a step too far! Think of the children!!! Well, someone else's children!!!

Diamond Age

[killfixx]

This certainly felt like the early form of A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer.

Not that I want any corporation to be responsible for teaching my children, but having a private, custom version without relying on someone else's eyes; I'll take it.