With Friends Like These

Most of us had an imaginary friend or two when we were kids. I had one with whom I remained friendly into adulthood until subtle differences drove us apart (he became an antivax, Trump supporter with several AR-15s who loves the Dodgers, hates puns, and only joined Twitter after Elon Musk made it safe for free speech). If you didn’t have an imaginary friend, maybe you just talked to yourself. But modern life and its always-on devices have stolen moments from those times when we’re left alone with our imaginary friends or, heaven forbid, our own thoughts. And now the technology that consumes our every waking moment is coming for our kids. Meet “Grok, an AI-powered plush toy in the shape of a rocket that can converse with your child. Grok is the first product from a Silicon Valley start-up called Curio that is leveraging Open AI’s technology on a line of toys Curio’s founders say will be capable of long-running, fully interactive conversation, allowing a child to view it almost as a peer or friend.” In a weird irony, the company that is entering what will be a growing market for AI-powered toys is positioning the toy as an antidote to tech, because it might reduce the time kids spend on their screens. This continues an age-old trend of companies offering technology to solve problems technology has created. Taylor Lorenz in WaPo (Gift Article): Meet Grok.