In a 2019 video, Kyra Kanojia—a child YouTuber who reviews toys—squeals with delight as she unboxes her Miko 2. The latest edition of this 'child companion robot' does not need constant app connectivity to function. Designed like a small and stout, well-behaved child, it can sing, dance and light up as you come back from school, and put you to sleep with bedtime stories. It can answer all your GK questions and help you prepare for exams with logical reasoning. It has Mikojis, where it identifies moods by sensing its environment. It can recognise faces, remember names and start a conversation, unlike Apple’s Siri. It is what they call an edutainment bot, a robot that will grow wiser and develop a bond with the child. Product videos, including Kyra's, invariably have children wondering who to play with as everyone around them is busy or unavailable. Suddenly they are gifted with a huggable, self-intelligent Miko so parents can go about their lives. A robot, parents seem to argue, is a better piece of technology around children than smartphones and laptops.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 27, 2021-Ausgabe von THE WEEK.
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Ram temple not an issue in south
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Haute and sweaty
In Mumbai, where I live and work, there is a severe heatwave going on. The highest temperature this month has been 40 degrees, sweltering and humid for the coastal city.
MOVE AWAY MARY!
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CEPA and beyond
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Brash and raw
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Modi and the Muslim syndrome
I have long been intrigued by the prime minister’s desire to hug every passing sheikh and sultan and his contrasting contempt for the ordinary Indian Muslim.
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SPOTLIGHT ON THE SENTINELS
Manipur government wants the Assam Rifles replaced, but the Union home ministry is focused on upgrading infrastructure and connectivity before deciding who guards the state