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The future is apparently here. And it's creepier than we ever imagined—even when we were playing around with tethering Teddy Ruxpin to the Internet. A Japanese company called Vinclu ("a company that makes crazy things and supports crazy people") is now taking pre-orders from Japan and the United States for a new interactive, artificial-intelligence driven home automation system. Called Gatebox, the new Internet-of-Things product takes Amazon's Alexa, Google Home, Spike Jonze's film Her , and the "holographic" anime characters of Vocaloid concerts to their unified natural conclusion.
Wait, what?
Gatebox, priced at ¥321,840 (about $2,700 US), is squarely targeted at young lonely salarymen and all brands of anime-obsessed otaku—promising the experience of "living with your favorite character." The size of a home coffee-maker, with a footprint no larger than a sheet of A4 printer paper, the device's main feature is a clear projection tube that displays a computer-animated avatar for the AI's "character." Vinclu apparently is planning multiple possible personalities for Gatebox—which, as part of the device's backstory, is a gateway to the dimension the character lives in.
A company like this could release the first strong AI product (kawaii slave?).
Beginner's definition of "waifu" for the uninitiated.
Update: Another article indicates that "[There's also] HDMI and PC inputs to allow the owner to make their own modifications and create their own characters."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @03:22AM
There are a *LOT* of fucked up women out there. And not all of them *DON'T LIKE* being fucked up.
I was a virgin well into my 20s in part waiting for the right girl (hint: didn't find her). A few of the girls back then were kink sceners (who stopped talking to me when I made jokes about 'it's not like you're into xx or yy!' Hint: they were.), others would call me a perve for being ackward (then later via the grapevine it came out they were into REALLY pervy shit.)
Point being: There is a really fucked up half of the population, it just isn't defined by gender lines or gender stereotypes, and for the most part it is well integrated into normal society to the point where things get ackward if you have norms and kinksters interacting without a good understanding of each other's lifestyles and relationship expectations.
This is probably simplified a bit too much, but I'm not a fucking sociologist or something.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday December 21 2016, @04:16AM
And so the untapped market swells.
It is tempting to argue that millennials are uniquely fucked up and becoming more so (the "post-millennials"). More screen time from an early age, deep integration with "social" media, easy enablement of subcultures and radicalization (depending on how you define this, your average Soylentil) over the Internet. Weirdos can now find each other with relative ease, bypass social filters and norms, quickly build an ideology among themselves, and reinforce their beliefs or delusions. All in possible secrecy.
Occupy, Berniebros, BLM, ISIS, #Pizzagate... what's coming could be much weirder and less predictable.
Back to women, I think they have historically faced more pressure to act "normal". But that pressure is getting greatly alleviated for both men and women by various trends, like less face-to-face communication, less home ownership, less romantic relationships and marriage.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @10:51AM
The Berniebros thing was just fake news in the media.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by GreatAuntAnesthesia on Wednesday December 21 2016, @11:57AM
I'd argue that if half the population is doing it then by definition it's not fucked up, about it's normal. Now I'm really interested to know what you define as "Kinky", "pervy" and "fucked up".