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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, @05:09AM
"Pedo-bait"? Filthy normie spotted. The kinds of people who are solely attracted to anime characters are not interested in real people--children included--at all. Everyone different from you is "creepy". That's why filthy normies are regarded with contempt; it's certainly not unearned.
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday December 21 2016, @05:38AM
"Filthy normie?" I guarantee you I shower more often than you do, just on the strength of those two words.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @07:32AM
I wouldn't be so sure about that: [wikipedia.org]
"After day 600, the social breakdown continued and the population declined toward extinction. During this period females ceased to reproduce. Their male counterparts withdrew completely, never engaging in courtship or fighting. They ate, drank, slept, and groomed themselves – all solitary pursuits. Sleek, healthy coats and an absence of scars characterized these males. They were dubbed "the beautiful ones." Breeding never resumed and behavior patterns were permanently changed."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 21 2016, @10:18AM
You shower more than once every day? That seems quite excessive, if so. Maybe you sweat a lot, or work somewhere where you frequently get dirty?
(Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday December 21 2016, @06:30PM
You'd be amazed how filthy retail can get you if you do more back-end than front-end. Once every day in the morning, and very often another one at night, especially in spring and summer.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...