Council Chronicle

Sunday, January 17, 2021
Log in
  • National News
  • Business & Economy
  • Technology
  • Science
  • Health
  • About CC
    • Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy GDPR
    • Terms of Use

Pages

  • About Council Chronicle
  • Contact Us
  • Our Team
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Former Wife of Prolific Arizona Serial Killer Speaks Up First Time after Scottsdale Suicide June 29, 2018
  • Indiana Couple Arrested After Authorities Discovered Cruel Punishment Device in Home June 28, 2018
  • Schizophrenic Oregon Man Who Was Seen Carrying His Mother’s Head Committed to Psychiatric Facility June 27, 2018
  • Texas Lawmen Looking for Four Suspect Who Tortured Child During Home Invasion June 27, 2018
  • Retirement Home Resident Reported Fake Fire to Draw In Firefighters and Shoot Them June 26, 2018
  • Arkansas Man Kills Wife, Sticks Body In Chest Freezer Before Committing Suicide June 26, 2018
  • West Virginia Man Arrested After He Tried to Baptize Family by Drowning Them in the Bathtub June 25, 2018

Google’s High-Tech Stuffed Animals Would Be a Serious Privacy Breach

May 25, 2015 By Ben Beckstrom Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow

Google’s High-Tech Stuffed AnimalsGoogle wants to transform adorable fluffy teddy bears into high-tech home assistants, in what many people described as the company’s creepiest initiatives. Google believes the toys can be used as wireless remote controls for many home appliances and even argues that kids might find them cute.

However, the legal technology firm SmartUp analyzed Google’s patents and found nothing is cute about them. Quite the contrary, the firm thinks they are “one of Google’s creepiest patents yet.” And it has to be said that there is something about anthropomorphic high-tech toys that most people find scary.

Another scary thing is Richard Wayne DeVaul’s job title, the mastermind behind the creepy toys project, who works as Google’s “director of mad science”. DeVaul believes adding speakers, cameras, microphones and motors to teddy bears and stuffed rabbits could turn them into reliable high-tech home assistants.

Technically, the toys will function as a trained pet that can also perform the tasks of a remote control. A specific trigger word can be assigned to make the toys turn their head towards the speaker. According to the Google project, the toys should then be able to determine if the person is trying to make eye contact, or the word was spoken by accident.

What made many people who saw the patent feel uncomfortable is that the high-tech toys are supposed to be able to mimic human expressions. “To express interest, an anthropomorphic device may open its eyes, lift its head and/or focus its gaze on the user,” DeVaul explains. The inventor thinks “young children might find these forms to be attractive.” Well, adults certainly don’t.

There are some other assertions in the paper that justify DeVaul’s “mad scientist” title. For instance, he thinks interacting with anthropomorphic stuffed animals is more natural than using a remote control, a debatable assertion to say the least. The Google director imagines a home surrounded by these creatures, with several being placed in each room.

Leaving joke aside, the Google toys would be a serious breach to anyone’s privacy, since nothing would stop them from recording private conversations and activities. The fact is even more concerning since the products mostly target young children.

“Children should be able to play in private and shouldn’t have to fear this sort of passive invasion of their privacy. It is simply unnecessary,” SmartUp director Emma Carr believes. The high-tech dolls project is relatively old, dating back from 2012. Most probably, Google did not choose to follow up on DeVaul’s ideas, which means that the company also thinks that they cross the creepy line.

Image Source: theidkshow

Email, RSS Follow

Filed Under: Technology

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 18 other subscribers

Recent Articles

ethics in dictionary highlighted

NIH Will Examine Ethical Problems of One of Their Studies

March 27, 2018 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

biomutant character

Eleven-Minutes Long Biomutant Trailer Prepares You for Amazing Gameplay and Mechanics

August 26, 2017 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

intime alibaba

Intime May Be Acquired By Its Founder And Alibaba

January 11, 2017 By Jesse Skelton Leave a Comment

Newborn baby

A Woman Gave Birth to Baby After Fertilizing Frozen Ovary

December 16, 2016 By Lee Raulin Leave a Comment

Parkes radio telescope

Hunting Aliens with Parkes Radio Telescope

November 11, 2016 By Ben Beckstrom Leave a Comment

man suffering from election season stress

Stressed Out? Here Are 7 Ways to Get Rid of Election Season Stress

October 19, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

Disney World wants to prevent fraud.

Disney World prevents fraud by scanning children’s fingers

September 8, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

artificial intelligence

How will the Artificial Intelligence will affect our life by 2030?

September 3, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

opera sync

Opera Sync resets passwords after it was hacked

August 30, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

viping

Why are teens viping – flavours or nicotine?

August 26, 2016 By Dustin Smith Leave a Comment

sex abuse

Doctors in sex abuse cases return to work. What happens with their victims?

August 25, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

affection

Affection or food – which is more important for a dog?

August 19, 2016 By Adam Martin Leave a Comment

Chipotle restaurant

Chipotle to Open its First Burger Joint

July 30, 2016 By Ben Beckstrom Leave a Comment

Chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A Rolls Out Protein-Packed Grill Breakfast Sandwich

July 20, 2016 By Ben Beckstrom Leave a Comment

Related Articles

  • wolf medallion

    The Witcher Enhanced Edition Free on GOG

    Jun 19, 2018
  • Skyrim

    You Can Actually Play Skyrim Very Special Edition on Your Amazon Echo

    Jun 14, 2018
  • Fortnite

    UK Child Sent to Rehab Because She Was Too Addicted to Fortnite

    Jun 12, 2018
  • Ambulance

    Detroit Woman Claims Samsung Phone Nearly Killed Her

    Jun 11, 2018
  • fallout shelter

    Influential US Stock Broker Probed in Death of Worker in Fallout Shelter Fire

    Jun 4, 2018
  • Witcher Enhanced Edition

    The Witcher Enhanced Edition Now Free on GOG

    Apr 30, 2018
  • Ion Maiden

    3D Realms Launches Duke Nukem 3D Inspired Ion Maiden

    Mar 1, 2018
  • Sea of Thieves

    Sea of Thieves Confirmed to Run on Potato Rigs

    Feb 14, 2018
  • Alien

    New Alien Game in the Making, FoxNext Announced

    Jan 19, 2018
  • Magnifying glass over Google's logo

    Google Publishes 2017’s Search Trends in a Special Compilation

    Dec 14, 2017

Categories

  • Breaking News
  • Business & Economy
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • National News
  • Nature
  • Science
  • Technology
  • World News

Copyright © 2021 CouncilChronicle.com

About · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Contact

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more.