$99 AI necklace puts a ‘friend’ around your neck

The tech entrepreneur who built a COVID-19 tracker as a teen in 2020 has now launched a new AI-powered necklace to combat loneliness. Some say it feels more like an episode of Black Mirror.

There’s a new entrant in the AI-powered wearables market, and no, this one doesn’t help people keep appointments or identify weird flowers — it just wants to be a friend. 

Introduced in a July 31 video posted on X and YouTube, the “Friend” device has already seen mixed reactions from the public.

Connected to a phone via Bluetooth, the puck-shaped device constantly listens to its user and can be spoken to by touching a button on the device. In its launch video, the device seemingly responds to whatever the user is doing at the time via text messages.

introducing friend. not imaginary.

order now at https://t.co/7kGiH5pQVK pic.twitter.com/qU58xNvX5v

— Avi (@AviSchiffmann) July 30, 2024

But some are pretty skeptical about the concept. Some users on X described the launch video as reminiscent of an episode of “Black Mirror” — a British television series that explores near-future dystopias containing science fiction technology.

Meanwhile, others are calling it the “adult incarnation of Tamagotchi” due to its similar rounded shape— though the devices’ actual functions are far different.

The device was designed and launched by Avi Schiffman, a tech entrepreneur who rose to prominence in 2020 when he built a website that tracked the spread of COVID-19.

Schiffman told TechCrunch that, unlike many other AI gadgets, the device isn’t designed to enhance productivity or act as a professional aid in any capacity.

Its sole purpose is to act as a virtual companion its users can talk to and nothing more.

The device is currently available for pre-order on the official friend website and will set buyers back $99.

Schiffman originally planned to create an AI-powered pendant called “Tab” to help users transcribe meetings and keep track of others.

With a price tag of $600, the device netted $100,000 in pre-orders. However, Schiffman later decided to pivot solely to the friend device and is instead offering a trade-in for the friend device as well as full refunds on the original Tab device.

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Meanwhile, AI-powered devices and wearables have launched to disappointing results from the market in recent months.

Rabbit — a pocket-sized “human-machine interface” device — launched in April to a slew of negative feedback. The Rabbit device was described as “unfinished, unhelpful, and barely reviewable,” by prominent tech reviewer Marques Brownlee in an April 30 video.

In May, Rabbit AI, the firm behind the device, was later called out by YouTube investigator Coffeezilla for perpetrating an alleged NFT scam, which the firm subsequently denied.

Meanwhile, Humane’s AI pin — a wearable “multi-modal” gadget that assists users with making calls, sending messages, and capturing video — was also decimated by tech reviewers following its launch in November last year.

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