Хэрэглэгчтэй харилцан яриа өрнүүлж, өдрийн турш мессеж илгээдэг Friend төхөөрөмжийн 2.0 хувилбарыг үүсгэн байгуулагч Ави Шиффман танилцууллаа.
Хоёр жилийн өмнө ганцаардлыг бууруулах зорилгоор бүтээгдсэн уг зүүдэг төхөөрөмж нь шинэчлэлээрээ дамжуулан чанга яригчтай болж, хэрэглэгчтэй өөрийн гэсэн тогтвортой зан чанараар ярилцах боломжтой болжээ. Тус компанийн шинэ бүтээгдэхүүн нь 249 ам.долларын үнэтэйгээр худалдаанд гарсан нь анхны хувилбараас 150 ам.доллараар өссөн үзүүлэлт юм.
Ави Шиффманы тайлбарласнаар, уг төхөөрөмж нь туслах эсвэл хайр дурлалын хамтрагч биш, харин хэрэглэгчийн итгэлт анд эсвэл зөвлөлдөх нөхөр байх зорилготой аж. Хэдийгээр маркетингийн хувьд өвөрмөц байдлаар сурталчилж байгаа ч төхөөрөмжийн үндсэн функционал болон хиймэл оюун ухааны бодит ач холбогдол тодорхойгүй хэвээр байна.
Өмнө нь тус компани Нью-Йоркийн метронд байршуулсан сурталчилгааныхаа улмаас олны анхааралд өртөж байсан ч олон нийтийн дунд өргөн тархалт олоогүй юм. Хиймэл оюун ухаанд суурилсан зүүдэг төхөөрөмжүүдийн зах зээл хүндрэлтэй байгааг Humane Inc компанийн AI Pin төсөл бүтэлгүйтэж, үйл ажиллагаагаа зогсоосон нь баталдаг.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
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Two years ago, tech founder Avi Schiffmann launched Friend, an AI wearable that you could talk to, and that would send you text messages about your day. The idea, ostensibly, was to use artificial intelligence to combat loneliness. This week, the company announced a new overhaul of the product, introducing a noticeable upgrade: a voice.
“Introducing friend 2.0,” Schiffmann tweeted Thursday. Friend now comes with a built-in speaker that can project a unique and consistent personality to its user.
A new commercial for the wearable shows a woman wearing a Friend and talking to it about what is presumably her ex-girlfriend. “It’s not bad to be gay,” the necklace tells her.
The video then switches to a man standing on a hillside discussing his filmmaking ambitions with his Friend. “That last film you made was insane!” the necklace compliments him.
The new retail price for this enhanced version of Friend is $249, which is substantially higher than the $99 price tag it had when it initially launched two years ago.
What can you really do with your Friend other than chit chat about your day? That part is still unclear. In another recent post on X, Schiffmann expounded upon what he felt the whole point of his weird product actually is.
“I am interested in this kind of relationship in attempting to offer, some kind of confidant, friend, God, not really sure what it is,” Schiffmann said. “But it is not an assistant, and it is not a lover.”
Interesting! Selling a plastic, algorithm-based necklace to people by insinuating it might, in fact, be a deity, is pretty bold marketing.
Of course, Schiffmann’s company has engaged in bold marketing before. Friend’s billboard campaign in the New York City subway system last year went viral after they were continually defaced, presumably by people who didn’t want human connection to be replaced by a digitized amulet.
Most AI wearables have failed to catch on with the mainstream — at least so far. The offering most similar to Friend was Humane Inc., which sought to replace the iPhone with its AI pin but had to shut down its business in less than a year after poor sales.
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