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It's not a scam, it's the founder (and his VCs) being deluded by current AI capabilities, and thinking that a rough idea already makes a working product.

The reason I call it a scam is that they are already taking orders for this product, and I can virtually guarantee that if they aren't successful in getting the product off the ground, they will not be refunding your $99.

That would be a scam.
 
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AI wearables like the Rabbit R1 and the AI Pin have attempted to capitalize on the popularity of artificial intelligence and have largely flopped, but that isn't stopping the creator of a new wearable device called Friend.


Friend is an AI necklace that is meant to serve as a personal companion, and in a video that could be the start to an episode of Black Mirror, it's shown providing support, encouragement, and companionship to the wearer.

The hardware component of Friend connects to an iPhone via Bluetooth, continually listening to all interactions around the wearer. Pressing a button on the necklace allows the user to speak to Friend, with a message sent to the iPhone in response. Friend is also able to send messages without a conversational prompt, responding to what the wearer is doing.

The Friend and its "memories" are stored on the necklace, with nothing uploaded to cloud servers. Friend creator Avi Schiffmann said in a blog post that the device is an "expression of how lonely" he's felt. In an interview with The Verge, Schiffmann said that Friend is designed to be supportive, validating, and able to encourage ideas. "It's a great brainstorming buddy," he said. "You can talk to it about relationships, things like that."

Friend is available for pre-order for $99, and it is set to launch in January 2025.

Article Link: New 'Friend' Necklace Offers AI Companionship
I think it is ok and remarkable, but I also think it is helping people to get lonelier, loose the ability to interact with other people, with HUMANS,
 


AI wearables like the Rabbit R1 and the AI Pin have attempted to capitalize on the popularity of artificial intelligence and have largely flopped, but that isn't stopping the creator of a new wearable device called Friend.


Friend is an AI necklace that is meant to serve as a personal companion, and in a video that could be the start to an episode of Black Mirror, it's shown providing support, encouragement, and companionship to the wearer.

The hardware component of Friend connects to an iPhone via Bluetooth, continually listening to all interactions around the wearer. Pressing a button on the necklace allows the user to speak to Friend, with a message sent to the iPhone in response. Friend is also able to send messages without a conversational prompt, responding to what the wearer is doing.

The Friend and its "memories" are stored on the necklace, with nothing uploaded to cloud servers. Friend creator Avi Schiffmann said in a blog post that the device is an "expression of how lonely" he's felt. In an interview with The Verge, Schiffmann said that Friend is designed to be supportive, validating, and able to encourage ideas. "It's a great brainstorming buddy," he said. "You can talk to it about relationships, things like that."

Friend is available for pre-order for $99, and it is set to launch in January 2025.

Article Link: New 'Friend' Necklace Offers AI Companionship
Friend...have you met Her?

 
Oh my. That thing looks rigged to be addictive. So now, when mobile phones train people to be like dogs to roll over and sit every time the phones beep or ring, there'll also be this necklace thing that's like a glorified Furby doing the same - constantly observing, constantly commenting.

If you want companionship, find a friend, not a machine.
 
(A) This is what happens when you keep a Tamagotchi alive for 27 years.

(B) There’s probably a certain type of person with a disposition suited for a device like this, there’s another type of person, similar to the first, that might suffer greatly by using it, but perhaps most people are simply repulsed by this. That might mean this device should only be available with a prescription…

Edit:
If I don't feed it every so often, will it die and make me start over?

Exactly!
 
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if you have no one to talk to, and need to have this because you are lonely.... get a dog or a cat, they are real and can relate to you better than this will ever do and the animals will actually show real love and affection toward you as well as have your six when needed....
 
AI will not be placed in the garbage, sorry to disappoint you, it's going to grow and grow.
You can either accept this (like we did with smartphones and the internet) or stay on the outside and pretend its not happening.
Like it or now, it here, it's staying, and it's going to grow.
You can be a slave to technology if you wish, I refuse to do that. If all technology went away tomorrow, I would still know how to survive and be happy, most people would have a nervous breakdown.
 
"You live in a deranged age, more deranged that usual, because in spite of great scientific and technological advances, man has not the faintest idea of who he is or what he is doing." -Walker Percy
 
AI will not be placed in the garbage, sorry to disappoint you, it's going to grow and grow.
You can either accept this (like we did with smartphones and the internet) or stay on the outside and pretend its not happening.
Like it or now, it here, it's staying, and it's going to grow.
Goldman Sachs begs to differ. It's a money sink. It costs businesses more than the cash it generates. Money decides in the end.
 
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I have to admit I find it very sad that so many here lack any care or consideration to the many millions of lonely people around the world, not forgetting the elderly who may also now be alone and not see another sole for days at a time.

I pray you never find yourself in such a position, and see others making fun of a product which could help you in your loneliness.

Many here should be ashamed of their lack of empathy towards others :(
 
(A) This is what happens when you keep a Tamagotchi alive for 27 years.

(B) There’s probably a certain type of person with a disposition suited for a device like this, there’s another type of person, similar to the first, that might suffer greatly by using it, but perhaps most people are simply repulsed by this. That might mean this device should only be available with a presubscription…

Edit:


Exactly!
Fixed
 
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Doing the quick math, they got $1.9MM in Seed funding, and an additional $2.5MM on a $50MM valuation.

That is $4.4MM, and they spent ~41% of that money to purchase the friend.com domain name.

Almost half of their money is thrown away. Burned up. Shredded.

I think I'm going to wait to give them my $99, until there is a real product to buy. Probably not even then.
I saw a humorous suggestion: “They’re not an AI company. They’re a domain speculator masquerading as an AI company to draw investment. I predict the domain name will sell for a profit in a few months and the company will fold.”
 
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I have to admit I find it very sad that so many here lack any care or consideration to the many millions of lonely people around the world, not forgetting the elderly who may also now be alone and not see another sole for days at a time.

I pray you never find yourself in such a position, and see others making fun of a product which could help you in your loneliness.

Many here should be ashamed of their lack of empathy towards others :(
Loneliness cannot be cured by machines.
 
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