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“Jibo the Family Robot” is the Creepiest Product of the Year (video)

Published

4 years ago

March 23, 2015

"Jibo the Family Robot" is the Creepiest Product of the Year (video)

Praised by CNN and the Wallstreet Journal, Jibo is the world’s first “family robot”. A cheesy, overly sentimental video selling this machine explains exactly how it will spy on your entire family … And it is extremely creepy.

In the cautionary tale that was 1984, telescreens were used by the ruling Party to keep its subjects under constant surveillance, thus eliminating the chance of secret conspiracies against it. Almost 70 years after the release of the novel, telescreens are a reality … and they are going much further than Orwell’s telescreens.

Enter Jibo. Before I go further, I will let you witness its mindbogglingly absurd video selling this product. The first time I watched it, I actually asked myself if it was some kind of spoof or parody. But no. I got confirmation that it was 100% real and that the product is about to ship worldwide. Then a dark, creeping feeling overwhelmed me as I realized the immense potential of this machine. Here’s the ad.

If you are anything like me, watching this video makes me angry : The sentimental, “life is so wonderful” music; The way the fake family talks to the robot as if it was an adopted son; The way it is presented as something “we’ve all dreamed about”. All the while, Jibo is being the family snitch, gathering data about everybody and sending it God knows where.

It recognizes everybody in its field of vision, it calculates the exact distance from it and even analyzes each person’s facial expression.

It knows who’ is coming to pick who up, at what time and where they are going.

It spends creepy one-on-one time with children, telling then stories while recording everything they are saying.

But Jibo did not like losing visual contact with the girl. As soon as it found the girl’s face, it creepily says “There you arrrre”.

Then there’s this bachelor dude who comes in and says “Heeyyy buddy” … to a robot. Are you serious? How much fluoride-laced toothpaste do you need to swallow before you start saying “Heeyyy buddy” to a machine? The dude then tells the machine “you know me so well” – he probably doesn’t know the half of it.

The ad ends with more creepy one-on-one time (in the dark). with the daughter who is too young to understand the concept of high tech surveillance. All she knows is that Jibo loves her because a heart was displayed on the screen. *shudders*

Since 2012, there’s been a steady stream of revelations confirming that the NSA and other agencies actively collect information from every single connected device. How is Jibo not a treasure trove of next-level information ready to collected and exploited?

They want you to have an All-Seeing Eye in your home … and they want you to pay money for it.

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RoseJ

You know what breaks my heart more? Seeing people treating robot with love and respect while treating animals (who are SENTIENT beings) like sh*t. Humanity makes me want to hang myself.

Anne

I went to the MIT website to read about Dr. Cynthia Breazeal, Founder & CEO. Before Jibo, she created Kismet, an earlier "social" robot. At the very bottom of the page it tells who sponsored Dr. Breazeal:

"Kismet is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Defense's Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation." http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2001/kismet

Yup, the same old Nazi pedophiles behind all such projects. I can't believe that anyone would willingly allow this type of spying into their houses.

Simi615

There are people who need help with the bare necessities in this world… like food, water, and shelter. Instead, the rich are promoting a robot that can spy on people?! Why are they not promoting a product that can help people in need, instead of promoting a creepy robot who does absolutely NOTHING!

Toshi

Why not do both?

tommy

I really doubt this toy will go anywhere far though.
The whole robot reality is what's in the agenda. (The movie i-robot)
I really think that people will become so saturated with technology that they will eventually want to disconnect from it.
There's a boundary that people will draw the line.
I think we already reached that point with tablets and the functionality of it. Most likely tablets will have a holographic display one day. Most people will want a one way interaction. Just pressing buttons or keyboards. No one really wants the tablet talking back to us. We speak enough to real people everyday.
That's why anything further than that simple will not work.
They are all just gimmicks.

SamVuee

An all-seeing robot eye to keep as a pet/toy at your home at your own expense of being dehumanized yourself…..I can clearly sense a dreaded future of machines outnumbering man, as I "look ahead" of whats yet to come

Johnny Canuck

If you have a Jibo, don't bother inviting me to your house for ANYTHING!!!! I'm a little spy-shy, if you know what I mean. And people will wonder why nobody comes around for a visit. Duh!

IT Outsourcing Dalla

A society whose citizens refuse to see and investigate the facts, who refuse to believe that their government and their media will routinely lie to them and fabricate a reality that is contrary to verifiable facts, is a society that chooses and deserves the police state dictatorship it is going to get.

notinterested

I feel like I don't need anything whatsoever, exept good food to eat and comfortable clothes to wear, basically. I am happy and content.

Yet, you have these companies that continue to create all these useless products that nobody actually needs.

It is a waste of time and money and resources.

The world remains delusional and dysfunctional. It is baffling to watch and witness this unfortunate and strange reality.

If Jibo can't wash the dishes or do the laundry, then Jibo is a useless joke.

Thy Unveiling

Agreed! Although dishwashers already exist 😉 though I'm sure people would upgrade to one that loads and unloads itself, if given the option.

I still can't believe people are too lazy to call their own takeout, according to this video. I kinda want to see how the guy taking the order on the other end reacts.

I can see people treating Jibo like a pet, or child, freaking out if I kicked it and told it to gtf away from me. "How dare you treat Jibo that way! Get out of here!"
"Funny you say that; I was thinking the same thing when I saw your spybot."
"He's no spybot! He's family! He's better than family!"

asdf

Jibo or 几波 in Chinese translates to "Several Waves" in English.
慈母 or "Loving Mother"

Timothy Leary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RwEY600jk5E

Boa

Well.. I'm on both sides of this.. Can't seem to find the words to express my feelings… advance is technology and human beings. Do we need tech to advance in this world? Will we one day be able to travel as our neighbors from other planets do? I want best of both worlds. Incredible technology and a spiritual connection with mother earth as she is. Not harming her in the process as we are. Feeding on fossil fuel and burning down every last forest. Making excuses like we are over populating her. We are abusive and greedy and that is why we are not ready for evolution. So sick of the system.

nvsk

Great article again VC, loving the new layout.

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Wexford Rebel

If they put an "i" in front of it and called it and I-jibo the suckers will buy it….Nope nope nope

davis

Furby 2015

The Winter Soldier

The latest thing to terrify your family or to spoil mercilessly!
I totally agree with that statement davis.
I’ve always said furbys are the spawn of satan…and now we have a robot made by followers of satan. How ironic….

Jane

I don't know if anyone commented about the UK show Black Mirror yet ( which…OFCOURSE, is going to made into a US version because I guess some US people must have a hard time watching the original in their English language? Ya I don't get why the keep doing this!!!). Anyways, the show is brilliant and is about our world in various future eras, basically after all of the beast system has come to fruition. It's frightening and scary good! But the Christmas special is about an object just like this Jibo crap, and I'm in awe (maybe even a little suspicious) of how well they called it.

SellingToTheMasses

Now you've got me curious about this "Black Mirror" show. Why different in different countries? laws, marketing, and fiddling, but not necessarily about language. I asked a manager of the US side of European owned company why they would sell one version of gadget X to the US customers and another to the Europeans? First different laws may apply (FDA or product limitations in the US may keep certain features off the product that would normally be used in other countries) Second, cultural differences may make certain "features" handicaps in a different culture. One of the European countries where gadget X is sold LOVES dials and complicated menus. The US market loves push button simplicity. Can't do both on the same gadget. Thirdly, fiddling. Especially with music or media (movies, tv, etc) crossing the border gives the new countries producers and directors a chance to put their spin on product. The new product, while essentially the same plot, can focus on themes not highlighted in the original. The best example of "3" I know is the movie "Vanilla Sky." (Now THAT would be a great movie for a VC review) If you didn't see it, it was during Tom Cruise's… Read more »

JJHeckt

i can't wait to see what happens in 10-15 years!

Olrik

The proponents of AI/robotics technologies that they believe will supplant flesh and blood humans and animals should be liquidated and their ashes used to fertilize our collective farms…

Thy Unveiling

Just before reading this article yesterday, I stumbled across a very strange (IMO) article from some "news" site. The first half was a blurb about X Files coming back for a brief run. The second half went on about new technology with smart chips in prosthetic arms. First thought that came to my mind was "I gotta get over to VC and see if anyone is talking about this." They really are aiming for a transhumanist spy society, and they really are trying to dupe us into thinking its something we want. Yes, if I lost a limb it would be nice to have a realistic prosthetic to replace it, but there are so many more important things they could sink their time and money into. Such as helping the poor, making sure every person and "unwanted" pet has a home so that homeless and animal shelters aren't overflowing, phasing out gas guzzling vehicles in favor of ones that aren't harmful to the planet. I could go on but in short: these sickos have the ability and resources to really make the world a better place but instead they focus on unnecessary technology, baldness, and maintaining erections. Oh, and weight… Read more »

Look4truthalwyz

Looked like a SNL skit to me!!! Lol horrible acting.

steve

I mean what the actual f##k!! I laughed incredulously at this. Are you shittin me? A good belt of a shovel is what the creators of this need…future generations….god love them.