Welcome to the Valley of the Creepy AI Dolls

Mobile World Congress always has more than its fair share of weird. Last week at MWC, the winner's prize for bonkers went to a Korean company called Hyodol, which proudly showed off a disturbing-looking ChatGPT-enabled companion doll aimed at older adults. Now, this 1,800 AI-enabled doll may well look like something you'd find in a haunted attic, but it's actually meant to act as an interactive digital pal for people experiencing loneliness or in long term care facilities. Thanks to the large language model stuffed inside the doll, the Hyodol can supposedly hold conversations with its owners, as well as provide health reminders such as when to take medication or eat a meal. It's every bit as connected as you can imagine, with a companion app and web monitoring platform that lets caretakers monitor the device and its user from afar.