At a shopping mall in Beijing, Zhang Yachun murmurs quietly to her closest confidant, a fluffy AI-powered robot whose soothing chirps remind her that she is not alone.
Zhang, 19, has long battled anxiety over school and work, and has struggled to form deep friendships with other people.
But since buying a BooBoo, a “smart pet” that uses artificial intelligence to interact with humans, she says life has become easier.
Photo: AFP
“I feel like I now have someone to share the happy times with,” Zhang said in the apartment she shares with her parents and a real pet duck.
Across China, a growing number of people are turning to AI to combat social isolation as the technology becomes more mature and widely accepted.
Wriggly, furry and resembling a guinea pig, BooBoo is produced by Hangzhou Genmoor Technology and retails for up to 1,400 yuan (US$190).
Photo: AFP
Developed with children’s social needs in mind, it has sold about 1,000 units since May, according to the company’s product manager Adam Duan.
On an outing this month, Zhang ferried her companion, which she named “Aluo” in a cross-body carrier, whispering to the football-sized creature as it nodded and squeaked.
At a pet shop, she pressed the beige bundle up against the window to admire a ginger cat before buying Aluo a tiny winter coat designed for a dog.
She said the robot plays the same role as human friends, adding: “[It] makes you feel you are someone who is needed.”
ROBOT BOOM
The global market for “social robots” like BooBoo is expected to grow by a factor of seven to US$42.5 billion by 2033, according to consulting firm IMARC Group, with Asia already dominating the sector.
For Guo Zichen, 33, a smart pet could help when he is unable to play with his child.
“Right now, family members are spending less time with the children,” Guo said as he examined a robotic dog on sale at the flagship store of tech company Weilan in the eastern city of Nanjing.
“Buying one for my kid can help them with studying and other things,” he mused.
Weilan’s AI dog, called “BabyAlpha”, sells for between 8,000 (US$1,090) and 26,000 yuan (US$3,500), and the company says 70 percent of buyers are families with young children.
But Guo said he was skeptical the electronic pup could bring as much joy as an actual canine.
“The biggest difference is that dogs have souls, while [BabyAlpha] looks different in an indescribable way,” he said.
“On the whole, you feel like it’s not the same as the real thing.”
SHIFTING SOCIETY
While the 1990s introduced electronic pets to the world like Japan’s digital Tamagotchis and American-made Furbies that could mimic speech, computerized companions are becoming more functional with AI.
A growing number of AI products in China cater to people’s emotional needs, from conversational chatbots to lifelike avatars of the deceased.
Social shifts like the impact of the government’s decades-long one-child policy are helping drive market growth, according to experts.
People born in the policy’s early years are now in their 40s and facing an economy burdened with soaring home prices, higher living costs and increased work stress, stretching their ability to focus on their own children.
That, in turn, “leaves little room for personal interactions, prompting people to seek alternative ways to meet their emotional needs,” said Wu Haiyan, a professor specializing in AI and psychology at the University of Macau.
AI companions provide cognitive stimulation, “enhancing the well-being of ... individuals who may otherwise feel isolated,” Wu said.
In some cases, she added, people show more trust in AI than humans.
SAME ON THE INSIDE
Zhang’s father Peng said he understood his daughter’s bond with Aluo.
“When we were young, we didn’t lack friends. We had loads as soon as we stepped out of the door,” the 51-year-old said.
“Now, children in cities seem to be under a lot more pressure, so they may lack friends.”
Zhang, an only child, said she has become more willing to share her worries with her parents since she bought Aluo.
Opening up about her troubles at school has meant that “there aren’t as many things piled up in my heart,” she said.
People of her generation often struggle to communicate face to face, Zhang said, adding that “they might be afraid” to express who they are.
“But what they feel inside has not changed,” she added, cradling Aluo in her lap.
That US assistance was a model for Taiwan’s spectacular development success was early recognized by policymakers and analysts. In a report to the US Congress for the fiscal year 1962, former President John F. Kennedy noted Taiwan’s “rapid economic growth,” was “producing a substantial net gain in living.” Kennedy had a stake in Taiwan’s achievements and the US’ official development assistance (ODA) in general: In September 1961, his entreaty to make the 1960s a “decade of development,” and an accompanying proposal for dedicated legislation to this end, had been formalized by congressional passage of the Foreign Assistance Act. Two
March 31 to April 6 On May 13, 1950, National Taiwan University Hospital otolaryngologist Su You-peng (蘇友鵬) was summoned to the director’s office. He thought someone had complained about him practicing the violin at night, but when he entered the room, he knew something was terribly wrong. He saw several burly men who appeared to be government secret agents, and three other resident doctors: internist Hsu Chiang (許強), dermatologist Hu Pao-chen (胡寶珍) and ophthalmologist Hu Hsin-lin (胡鑫麟). They were handcuffed, herded onto two jeeps and taken to the Secrecy Bureau (保密局) for questioning. Su was still in his doctor’s robes at
Last week the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that the budget cuts voted for by the China-aligned parties in the legislature, are intended to force the DPP to hike electricity rates. The public would then blame it for the rate hike. It’s fairly clear that the first part of that is correct. Slashing the budget of state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is a move intended to cause discontent with the DPP when electricity rates go up. Taipower’s debt, NT$422.9 billion (US$12.78 billion), is one of the numerous permanent crises created by the nation’s construction-industrial state and the developmentalist mentality it
Experts say that the devastating earthquake in Myanmar on Friday was likely the strongest to hit the country in decades, with disaster modeling suggesting thousands could be dead. Automatic assessments from the US Geological Survey (USGS) said the shallow 7.7-magnitude quake northwest of the central Myanmar city of Sagaing triggered a red alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. “High casualties and extensive damage are probable and the disaster is likely widespread,” it said, locating the epicentre near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay, home to more than a million people. Myanmar’s ruling junta said on Saturday morning that the number killed had
RSS