Hengbot Sirius: 'trainable' AI dog

If you're a dog-lover / pet parent, the phrase 'better than a real dog' - applied to a canine-shaped piece of artificial intelligence (AI) powered machinery may strike horror into your heart. Meet Chinese start-up Hengbot's Sirius, currently raising funds on Kickstarter to scale up its 'trainable' robotic dog model. The name Sirius refers to the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (the Greater Dog), aka the Dog Star. Back here on Earth, perhaps we need to ask, what's the difference between trainable and programmable, and what lines are we crossing here? Many of us will remember the debate over home appliances that could be ordered about and shouted at with impunity initially being endowed with attractive female voices. Some of us will want our kids growing up with the sense of responsibility that having a pet can help engender, not to mention fostering an understanding of the natural ebbs and flows of life, and providing immense amounts of joy. Not that Sirius isn't playful, of course - in fact, it's capable of 'spontaneous' fun. Check that out in the ad. What do you think of the campaign and concept? Obviously lots of people are loving it, and there's real value for many circumstances. If you like the tech detail: Super Agile Robot in 1KG | 1000+ Motion Library | AI Multimodal Interaction | 5 TOPS AI Processor | Bionic Design | Creator-Friendly. However, the 'de-dogging' process does beg the question of what kind of friend we are to our best friend. At this point, there's only one thing we can be confident of as AI developments continue to suck up the planet's resources - despite having no kidneys, this doggie will likely consume a lot more water than a real one....

Keywords: Hengbot Sirius 'trainable' AI dog, robotic dogs, artificial intelligence dog, Kickstarter OpenAI dog,OpenAI pets