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Startup set to brick $800 kids robot is trying to open source it first (arstechnica.com)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] 57 points 2 years ago (1 child)

Using some creepy robot with a proprietary algorithm to provide "emotional support" to children sounds like a good thing to go out of business.

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  • [–] 41 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    IIRC they were designed for kids with autism.

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  • [–] 40 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    So these robots will be autobots?

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    One would expect kids with autism to be more picky about their emotional support, not less

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  • [–] 11 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    it's about being able to read emotions:

    a large portion of autistic people have trouble reading emotions in others.

    that's why they're often drawn to things like books, comics, animated content, theater, and, like in this example, robots that clearly express their emotions.

    speaking for myself (diagnosed ASD), it's the ambiguity that bothers me more than anything. i like it when things are nice and clear, neatly organized, and generally don't require a lot of attention to interpret.

    interpreting the environment is taxing enough, adding a lot of emotional interpreting on top can quickly get overwhelming, which leads to poor mood, performance, and ultimately just straight-up headaches...again, this isn't a hunch, it was part of the ASD diagnostic test.

    so i can imagine how much easier it is for kids with similar problems to relate emotionally to something that shows it's emotions in clear, easily recognizable ways, rather than having to guess constantly. that constant guessing gets real tiring, real quick...

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  • [–] -1 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    I have very recently been diagnosed ASD, and in my childhood I think a toy pretending to have emotions, but in fact not having them, would make me much more anxious than no such toy at all, just me jumping around imagining things.

    Cats and dogs would be easier. Or soft toys.

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