Latest news with #companionship
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
China factory churns out hyper-realistic AI sex dolls that can converse through eight different personalities
Sex doll factories in China have reported booming business thanks to the production of realistic AI chatbots, even have eight personalities, alongside basic silicone dolls. WMDoll, one of the nation's biggest sex doll makers, claimed to be expecting a 30 per cent jump in sales this year, thanks to its adoption of generative AI tools like ChatGPT. WMDoll's founder Liu Jiangxia told the South China Morning Post: 'It makes the dolls more responsive and interactive, which offers users a better experience.' Unlike traditional dolls, those installed with AI capabilities can speak back to the user. WMDoll says it can make figures with about eight different 'personalities' to choose from, and they're capable of continuing a conversation started a few days earlier. The company fits its dolls with an AI tool, designed to pander to its partner's ego and it can can be programmed to ask questions about their 'relationship' and about the user's feelings. WMDoll's Jiangxia said: 'In the past, these dolls' primary function was to satisfy users' sexual needs. But as their physical features, such as head and joint movements and skin, became more realistic, our customers started to seek emotional companionship in the dolls.' Regarding companionship, Jiangxia said that was when the firm decided to introduce large language models into its products, allowing the dolls to 'react to users verbally'. The company started using AI in its dolls in 2016 and the technology has been improving due to open source AI, which has helped to make them cheaper. Dolls are often made with thermoplastic, which is heated to 37C to better reflect a human's body temperature, and developers say the models have body sensors that also make them feel human-like. Another manufacturer Shenzhen Atall Intelligent Robot Technology previously said that most of its clients are men aged 40-50 from the U.S. and Europe. Users can order custom-made AI dolls at around $3,000 each, and they have soft skin made from rubbery plastic that contains less oil than normal plastics and do not smell. U.S. customers are said to like dolls with darker skin and large breasts, buttocks, and genitals, while Chinese customers go for for Asian features with small, hairless genitals, the company said. The firm is selling child-size AI sex robots, both male and female, and the biggest market for them is reportedly in the U.S. and Canada. However, the preference for child-like dolls is nothing new, with police raids around the globe in recent years leading to them being seized and owners arrested. The robot's eyes, lips, and head move and they speak English and Chinese, developers say. Flexible joints mean the dolls can be positioned in a variety of poses. The company also produces custom-made AI sex robots, for $9,400 - two have been ordered by men who wanted them based on their dead wives. Around 70 per cent of customers also ask for hair on the dolls' genital area. Male sex robots are also sold but they are nine times less popular than female robots, according to manufacturers. On Chinese social media, some say the products reinforce sexist stereotypes or endorse pedophilia. Meanwhile others, calling themselves 'friends of dolls', share user reviews and advice on dedicated online forums. One anonymous user said in a review of a standard sex doll: 'The material is quite good, very soft to the touch. When I hold her I feel very comfortable.' China has previously been estimated to make over 80 per cent of the world's sex toys, with over a million people employed in the country's $6.6billion industry. Chinese women's rights activist Xiao Meili thinks that some men will always have outdated expectations, and 'sex housewife robots' might actually help women. Meili told AFP: 'A lot of men want the same from women - sex, housework, childbirth, and filial piety. They don't think of women as individuals. 'If every nerd buys a sex doll for himself ... that would free a lot of women from these kind of men.'
The National
21-05-2025
- The National
Gitex Europe: Could cyberdog developed in Abu Dhabi help support elderly social care?
Robotic dogs have become a familiar sight at tech exhibitions around the world, but the latest cyberdog on show at Gitex Europe in Berlin has been designed specifically to address the growing demands of social care. The exhibition held each year in Dubai opened its European version on Wednesday, uniting venture capitalists with technology start-ups. As populations age, elderly care is one of the greatest challenges facing society. The Abu Dhabi-based developers of 'Byte' claim the robotic dog can offer companionship and emotional support while used as a home assistant. And without the need for daily walks, trips to the vet or the constant attention demands of most canine companions, Byte could offer a low-maintenance alternative to man's best friend. 'We want to position this as a cyber pet for elderly people or as a guide dog for the blind,' said Charles Goh, global alliance director at InspireTech, a company in Yas Island developing software to a make the Chinese-made robotic dog more interactive with humans. 'It will use ChatGPT to sing songs, tell jokes and engage with its owner. Importantly, it is a companion that can offer a low-maintenance solution to help resolve the issue of isolation. This robot is in the shape of a dog, but eventually it may be able to take different forms of a cat or a bird, for example.' The company is developing software that will allow the dog to understand commands in several languages. It is programmed to notify emergency services if it receives no response from its owner during regular check-ins in case of a fall at home, and can offer medication reminders. A camera fitted inside the dog's head can be viewed through the owner's mobile device, while its body is packed with sensors allowing safe integration with its surroundings. Health-monitoring software is under development to allow the cyberdog to monitor its owner's biometrics and call medical assistance in the event of a heart attack or stroke. Byte takes an hour to fully charge and is expected to cost about $5,000 once on sale, which developers expect by 2030. 'Real dogs are amazing but there is an emotional attachment humans have that can be difficult to break, as most owners will outlive their pets,' said Mr Goh, in Berlin to build new financial partnerships with European investors. 'There is no separation anxiety with a cyberdog and the fundamental difference is you will never have to say goodbye to him.' The cyberdog, one of a number of projects under development at InspireTech, comes with data protection and cybersecurity. Across three days, Gitex Europe is focusing on these core areas, as well as green technology, to decarbonise economies, smart cities and regulation of artificial intelligence. Investors said there was plenty of potential to build new partnerships between the UAE and Europe. 'We have a lot of start-ups and founders from Dubai who want to expand into Europe so we want to make sure we connect them with the right ecosystem enablers and the right partners,' said Julien Plouzeau, senior partner at Oraseya Capital, the venture capital fund of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority. 'It is also important for us to be educated about new opportunities we can bring to our founders and help them set up in Europe. Most of the expansion plans we see from the Middle East at some point will include Europe.' The Dubai Economic Agenda D33 is a comprehensive plan to double the size of the emirate's economy within the next decade. As a road map to sustainable growth, the drive aims to hit that goal before 2033, with a focus on diversifying the economy and attracting new investment. Mr Plouzeau said technology around finance and property have been the most active industries in regards to investment capital over the past two years. 'There's no reason to think that's going to stop in the future,' he said. 'We are also looking at logistics, supply chain, and pretty much all the industries and verticals aligned to Agenda D33. 'We are actively deploying $136 billion at the moment and looking at $500,000 to $3 million per investment. Of course, there is a long process for us to conduct our due diligence, but we've seen start-ups very much here coming to Berlin, so it's quite exciting.' Dubai Silicon Oasis has been a key location in the UAE to test the latest technology, before expanding services elsewhere. From automated roadside delivery robots, to driverless taxis, AI-powered pedestrian crossings and drones transporting vital medical supplies, the area has played a crucial role in technology testing. 'It is a great moment to see something made in the UAE, such as Gitex here in Europe, and we really want to consolidate that,' said Dr Juma Al Matrooshi, director general of Dubai Silicon Oasis. 'We want to not only import technology but also export the transfer of technology as there is an ease of doing business in the UAE. 'We are really interested in technology but investment does not come easily. The UAE was the first country to appoint a minister of AI and rather than red tape for business, we roll out the red carpet.'
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Au Pair agency offers companionship for the elderly
Photo: LDR / Chloe Ranford The loneliness epidemic is growing among our aging population - a 2024 study by Age Concern found 59% of people aged 65 plus have felt lonely recently. But one fast-growing solution has come from an unlikely place. Tanya Burrage has run an au pair agency for twenty years, but recently expanded her services to offer support and companionship to the elderly. The idea came from her own client base who'd previously hired au pairs for their children - now their parents are aging, and they need someone to check in on them.
Washington Post
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
Book Review: Ocean Vuong takes existentialism to deeply intimate level in 'The Emperor of Gladness'
Hai is 19 and suicidal. Grazina is 81 and living alone with dementia. So when she strikes a deal to house him so they can keep each other company in exchange for his help as a kind of unofficial live-in nurse, this could spell their mutual salvation or destruction. Ocean Vuong's new novel follows Hai as he takes care of Grazina and works in a fast-casual restaurant to help support them. Told in moments, 'The Emperor of Gladness' takes existentialism to a deeply intimate level, leaving the reader to contemplate what it is to live in a messy, complicated world of wars, addiction, class struggles and good people looking for second chances. The novel was immediately named Oprah Winfrey's latest book club pick .
The Guardian
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Echo of You review – expressive documentary hears from grieving life partners
The Marvel bromide about 'What is grief, if not love persevering?' comes to mind watching this metaphysically charged Danish documentary in which nine senior citizens discuss their departed life partners. Director Zara Zerny works hard in defining the miracle of lifelong companionship, and the ineffable essence of that significant other which persists after death. So much so that, in one final, oddly encouraging section, some of the interviewees here suggest that their loved one still watches over them, Patrick Swayze-style. Awkward beginnings and lovestruck thunderclaps: it's all here. Finn-Erik recalls his first sighting of Kirsten as a 17-year-old with ballet-dancer grace. Ove was rescued from a hotel-room orgy with multiple Norwegians by strapping six-footer Bent, who tells him: 'You're coming home with me.' Then there's Elly, the trauma of whose first violent marriage 'vanished like the dew before the sun' when she met her new partner Aksel. In Zerny's intimate interviewing environment, nothing is off the table: sex and infidelity, domestic bliss and disaffection, partnerships that outlast passion, the pain of outlasting your partner. No surprises that long-term cohabitation requires compromise and even the odd lucky break. Circus performer Flemming admits that he and his partner in life and acrobatics, Birgit, only stayed together due to being offered a plum contract just as their relationship was floundering (they later performed together for Cirque du Soleil in their 70s). As for the question of whether these unions constitute 'the one', philosophical differences arise. 'I couldn't know that. I just decided he was. I assumed I was right,' says Inger, for the free-will camp. In Ove's book, higher forces are at work. 'We're not placed on Earth at random. And who we meet isn't random either.' Zerny and cinematographer Jacob Sofussen shoot the interviews and adjoining segments with a lucid compassion; their closeups make beautiful parchment out of wrinkled skin. Leaning out towards the mystery of other people and the other side, Zerny occasionally overreaches in her expressionism: the shots of the interviewees 'dancing' their memories feel a bit am-drammy. The most effective tactics are the simplest, such as the initial sequence that, asking the interviewees to cover their eyes and recount their first thoughts of their paramours, makes these veterans of the heart into dreaming infants again. This is an important film filled with contemplative purpose. Echo of You is on True Story from 23 May
